Nucleophosmin 1 Promotes Mucosal Immunity by Supporting Mitochondrial Oxidative Phosphorylation and ILC3 Activity
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ABSTRACT: NPM1 is commonly mutated in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Concurrent inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and MDS have been reported frequently, indicating a close relationship between IBD and MDS. Here, we examined the role of NPM1 in IBD and colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC). NPM1 was reduced in IBD patients. Npm1+/- mice were more susceptible to acute colitis and experimentally induced CAC than littermate controls. Npm1 deficiency impaired the function of IL-22-producing group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s). Mice lacking Npm1 in ILC3s exhibited decreased IL-22 production and accelerated development of colitis. NPM1 was important for mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolism by oxidative phosphorylation in ILC3s. Further experiments revealed that NPM1 cooperates with p65 to promote TFAM transcription in ILC3s. Overexpression of Npm1 in mice enhanced ILC3 function and reduced severity of DSS-induced colitis. Thus, our findings suggest the protective function of NPM1 in ILC3s against IBD by regulating mitochondrial metabolism through p65-TFAM axis.
Project description:Group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) are key players in intestinal homeostasis. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is linked to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Herein, we used cell culture, novel mouse models, and human specimens to examine if ER stress in ILC3s impacts IBD pathophysiology. We show that mouse intestinal ILC3s exhibited a 24h-rhythmic expression pattern of the master ER stress response regulator, IRE1α-XBP1. Proinflammatory cytokine IL-23 selectively stimulated IRE1α-XBP1 in mouse ILC3s through mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS). IRE1α-XBP1 was activated in ILC3s of mice exposed to experimental colitis and in inflamed human IBD specimens. Mice with Ire1α deletion in ILC3s (Ire1αΔRorc) showed reduced expression of ER stress response and cytokine genes including Il22 in ILC3s and were highly vulnerable to infections and colitis. Administration of IL-22 counteracted their colitis susceptibility. In human ILC3s, IRE1 inhibitors suppressed cytokine production, which was upregulated by an IRE1 activator. Moreover, the frequencies of intestinal XBP1s+ ILC3s in Crohn’s disease patients before administration of ustekinumab, an anti-IL-12/IL-23 antibody, positively correlated with response to treatment. We demonstrate that a non-canonical mtROS-IRE1α-XBP1 pathway augments cytokine production by ILC3s and identify XBP1+ ILC3s as a potential biomarker for predicting response to anti-IL-23 therapies in IBD. Group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) have recently emerged as important regulators and potential drug targets for IBD. However, the response of ILC3s to environmental stimuli during intestinal inflammation remains elusive. IRE1a-XBP1 serves as the regulatory hub of the unfolded protein response (UPR) that plays a vital role in intestinal inflammation.
Project description:Colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC) is a serious complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with complex etiology involving chronic inflammation, immune dysregulation, and gut microbiota dysbiosis. Creatine, a natural nitrogenous com-pound, possesses anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, but its role in CAC remains unclear.We established an AOM/DSS-induced mouse model of CAC and supplemented mice with creatine. We assessed the effects of creatine on colitis severity, tumor burden, and histopathology. Additionally, we investigated the impact of crea-tine on gut barrier function, macrophage polarization, and gut microbiota composi-tion.Creatine supplementation significantly alleviated DSS-induced colitis, reduced tumor burden, and delayed CAC progression in mice. Mechanistically, creatine im-proved gut barrier function by protecting tight junction proteins from degradation in-duced by the modeling stimulus,influenced macrophage polarization, and main-tained gut microbiota diversity, promoting the abundance of beneficial bacteria while reducing harmful ones.Our findings suggest that creatine supplementation may rep-resent a promising supportive therapy for IBD and CAC by modulating the gut micro-biota and immune microenvironment. Further investigation is warranted to explore the clinical potential of creatine in the management of CAC.
Project description:MUC1 is a tumor-associated antigen that is aberrantly expressed in cancer and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Even though immune cells express low MUC1 levels, their modulations of MUC1 are important in tumor progression. Consistent with previous clinical data that show increased myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in IBD, we now show that down-regulation of MUC1 on hematopoietic cells increases MDSCs in IBD, similar to our data in tumor-bearing mice. We hypothesize that MDSC expansion in IBD is critical for tumor progression. In order to mechanistically confirm the linkage between Muc1 down-regulation and MDSC expansion, we generated chimeric mice that did not express Muc1 in the hematopoietic compartment (KOM-bM-^FM-^RWT). These mice were used in 2 models of colitis and colitis-associated cancer (CAC) and their responses were compared to wildtype chimeras (WTM-bM-^FM-^RWT). KOM-bM-^FM-^RWT mice show increased levels of MDSCs during colitis that was responsible for the larger colon tumors that eventually developed in these mice. Using microarray and qRT-PCR analysis, we observed increased pro-tumorigenic signaling in the colons of KOM-bM-^FM-^RWT mice during colitis as compared to WTM-bM-^FM-^RWT mice. Our RNA (microarray and qRT-PCR analysis) and protein analysis demonstrate increased up-regulation of metalloproteinases, collagenases, defensins, complements, growth factors, cytokines and chemokines in KOM-bM-^FM-^RWT mice as compared to WTM-bM-^FM-^RWT mice. Antibody-mediated depletion of MDSCs in mice during colitis reduced colon tumor formation during CAC. Development of CAC is a serious complication of colitis and our data highlight MDSCs as a targetable link between inflammation and cancer. A total of 12 samples were analysed. RNA was made from the mucosa of the colon of WTM-bM-^FM-^RWT and KOM-bM-^FM-^RWT mice that were either untreated or treated with azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sodium sulfate (DSS). There are 4 groups, n=3 for each group: untreated WTM-bM-^FM-^RWT mice, untreated KOM-bM-^FM-^RWT mice, AOM+DSS treated WTM-bM-^FM-^RWT mice, AOM+DSS treated KOM-bM-^FM-^RWT mice = 12 samples in total.
Project description:Multicellular cytokine networks regulate the onset of intestinal inflammation and colitis-associated cancer (CAC). Interleukin 22 (IL-22) promotes epithelial cell recovery but can also drive inflammation and tumorigenesis. We demonstrate that IL-22 from innate lymphoid cells activates STAT3 and increases OSM receptor expression in intestinal epithelial cells. This activation leads to sustained STAT3 activity via OSM, promoting inflammation and tumorigenesis. Deleting the OSM receptor or blocking OSM pharmacologically mitigates colitis and CAC. Our findings highlight the IL-22-OSM axis as a potential therapeutic target for these conditions.
Project description:Multicellular cytokine networks regulate the onset of intestinal inflammation and colitis-associated cancer (CAC). Interleukin 22 (IL-22) promotes epithelial cell recovery but can also drive inflammation and tumorigenesis. We demonstrate that IL-22 from innate lymphoid cells activates STAT3 and increases OSM receptor expression in intestinal epithelial cells. This activation leads to sustained STAT3 activity via OSM, promoting inflammation and tumorigenesis. Deleting the OSM receptor or blocking OSM pharmacologically mitigates colitis and CAC. Our findings highlight the IL-22-OSM axis as a potential therapeutic target for these conditions.
Project description:Multicellular cytokine networks regulate the onset of intestinal inflammation and colitis-associated cancer (CAC). Interleukin 22 (IL-22) promotes epithelial cell recovery but can also drive inflammation and tumorigenesis. We demonstrate that IL-22 from innate lymphoid cells activates STAT3 and increases OSM receptor expression in intestinal epithelial cells. This activation leads to sustained STAT3 activity via OSM, promoting inflammation and tumorigenesis. Deleting the OSM receptor or blocking OSM pharmacologically mitigates colitis and CAC. Our findings highlight the IL-22-OSM axis as a potential therapeutic target for these conditions.
Project description:Multicellular cytokine networks orchestrate the onset and progression of intestinal inflammation and colitis-associated cancer (CAC). Interleukin 22 (IL-22), a member of the IL-10 superfamily, is known for promoting epithelial cell recovery but can inadvertently fuel inflammation and tumorigenesis. Here, we demonstrate that IL-22, derived from group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3), triggers oncostatin M (OSM) responsiveness in intestinal epithelial cells by activating STAT3 and upregulating OSM receptor (OSMR) expression. OSM, a member of the IL-6 cytokine family implicated in inflammatory bowel disease, collaborates with IL-22 to sustain STAT3 activation, promoting proinflammatory adaptations and immune cell chemotaxis to the intestine. Conditional deletion of OSMR in epithelial cells protects mice from colitis and CAC. Additionally, pharmacological blockade of OSM reduces the progression of established CAC. Our study reveals a novel mechanism by which OSM sustains intestinal inflammation and CAC, identifying the IL-22-OSM axis as a promising therapeutic target.
Project description:The causal relationships between inflammation and cancer are now widely recognized and discussed. Epidemiological and experimental studies have shown that patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are major risk factors for developing CRC than the general population. Approximately 18.4% of patients with IBD are reported to develop into colitis associated cancer (CAC) within 30 years after the onset of disease . CAC has become the major cause of death in IBD patients. While these mechanisms by which chronic inflammation promotes colonic carcinogenesis are being investigated, many unanswered questions remain. Circular RNA (CircRNA) is a newly discovered type of non-coding RNAs, which is involved in the colorectal cancer (CRC) development by diverse mechanisms. In our current study, we employed the widely used Dextran Sodium Sulfate (DSS)-induced acute colitis and Azoxymethane (AOM)/DSS-induced CAC models to screen the circRNA and mRNA expression profiles in inflammation and inflammation-associated cancer by the high throughput sequencing.
Project description:MUC1 is a tumor-associated antigen that is aberrantly expressed in cancer and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Even though immune cells express low MUC1 levels, their modulations of MUC1 are important in tumor progression. Consistent with previous clinical data that show increased myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in IBD, we now show that down-regulation of MUC1 on hematopoietic cells increases MDSCs in IBD, similar to our data in tumor-bearing mice. We hypothesize that MDSC expansion in IBD is critical for tumor progression. In order to mechanistically confirm the linkage between Muc1 down-regulation and MDSC expansion, we generated chimeric mice that did not express Muc1 in the hematopoietic compartment (KO→WT). These mice were used in 2 models of colitis and colitis-associated cancer (CAC) and their responses were compared to wildtype chimeras (WT→WT). KO→WT mice show increased levels of MDSCs during colitis that was responsible for the larger colon tumors that eventually developed in these mice. Using microarray and qRT-PCR analysis, we observed increased pro-tumorigenic signaling in the colons of KO→WT mice during colitis as compared to WT→WT mice. Our RNA (microarray and qRT-PCR analysis) and protein analysis demonstrate increased up-regulation of metalloproteinases, collagenases, defensins, complements, growth factors, cytokines and chemokines in KO→WT mice as compared to WT→WT mice. Antibody-mediated depletion of MDSCs in mice during colitis reduced colon tumor formation during CAC. Development of CAC is a serious complication of colitis and our data highlight MDSCs as a targetable link between inflammation and cancer.
Project description:Group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) are RORγT+ lymphocytes that are predominately enriched in mucosal tissues and produce IL-22 and IL-17A. They are the innate counterparts of Th17. While Th17 lymphocytes utilize unique metabolic pathways in their differentiation program, it is unknown whether ILC3s make similar metabolic adaptations. We employed single-cell RNA sequencing and metabolomic profiling of intestinal ILC subsets to identify an enrichment of polyamine biosynthesis in ILC3s, converging on the rate-limiting enzyme ornithine decarboxylase (ODC1). In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that exogenous supplementation with the polyamine putrescine or its biosynthetic substrate, ornithine, enhanced ILC3 production of IL-22. Conditional deletion of ODC1 in ILC3s impaired mouse antibacterial defense against C. rodentium infection, which was associated with a decrease in anti-microbial peptide production by the intestinal epithelium. Furthermore, in a model of anti-CD40 colitis, deficiency of ODC1 in ILC3s markedly reduced the production of IL-22 and severity of inflammatory colitis. We conclude that cell-intrinsic polyamine biosynthesis facilitates efficient defense against enteric pathogens as well as augments autoimmune colitis, thus representing an attractive target to modulate ILC3 function in intestinal disease.