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Nadjsombati MS, Niepoth N, Webeck LM, Kennedy EA, Jones DL, Billipp TE, Baldridge MT, Bendesky A, von Moltke J. Genetic mapping reveals Pou2af2/OCA-T1-dependent tuning of tuft cell differentiation and intestinal type 2 immunity. Sci Immunol 2023; 8:eade5019. [PMID: 37172102 PMCID: PMC10308849 DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.ade5019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Chemosensory epithelial tuft cells contribute to innate immunity at barrier surfaces, but their differentiation from epithelial progenitors is not well understood. Here, we exploited differences between inbred mouse strains to identify an epithelium-intrinsic mechanism that regulates tuft cell differentiation and tunes innate type 2 immunity in the small intestine. Balb/cJ (Balb) mice had fewer intestinal tuft cells than C57BL/6J (B6) mice and failed to respond to the tuft cell ligand succinate. Most of this differential succinate response was determined by the 50- to 67-Mb interval of chromosome 9 (Chr9), such that congenic Balb mice carrying the B6 Chr9 interval had elevated baseline numbers of tuft cells and responded to succinate. The Chr9 locus includes Pou2af2, which encodes the protein OCA-T1, a transcriptional cofactor essential for tuft cell development. Epithelial crypts expressed a previously unannotated short isoform of Pou2af2 predicted to use a distinct transcriptional start site and encode a nonfunctional protein. Low tuft cell numbers and the resulting lack of succinate response in Balb mice were explained by a preferential expression of the short isoform and could be rescued by expression of full-length Pou2af2. Physiologically, Pou2af2 isoform usage tuned innate type 2 immunity in the small intestine. Balb mice maintained responsiveness to helminth pathogens while ignoring commensal Tritrichomonas protists and reducing norovirus burdens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marija S Nadjsombati
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Natalie Niepoth
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, NY, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, NY, USA
| | - Lily M Webeck
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Kennedy
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Danielle L Jones
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Tyler E Billipp
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Megan T Baldridge
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Andres Bendesky
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, NY, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, NY, USA
| | - Jakob von Moltke
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
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Billipp TE, Fung C, Webeck LM, Sargent DB, Gologorsky MB, McDaniel MM, Kasal DN, McGinty JW, Barrow KA, Rich LM, Barilli A, Sabat M, Debley JS, Myers R, Howitt MR, von Moltke J. Tuft cell-derived acetylcholine regulates epithelial fluid secretion. bioRxiv 2023:2023.03.17.533208. [PMID: 36993541 PMCID: PMC10055254 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.17.533208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
Tuft cells are solitary chemosensory epithelial cells that can sense lumenal stimuli at mucosal barriers and secrete effector molecules to regulate the physiology and immune state of their surrounding tissue. In the small intestine, tuft cells detect parasitic worms (helminths) and microbe-derived succinate, and signal to immune cells to trigger a Type 2 immune response that leads to extensive epithelial remodeling spanning several days. Acetylcholine (ACh) from airway tuft cells has been shown to stimulate acute changes in breathing and mucocilliary clearance, but its function in the intestine is unknown. Here we show that tuft cell chemosensing in the intestine leads to release of ACh, but that this does not contribute to immune cell activation or associated tissue remodeling. Instead, tuft cell-derived ACh triggers immediate fluid secretion from neighboring epithelial cells into the intestinal lumen. This tuft cell-regulated fluid secretion is amplified during Type 2 inflammation, and helminth clearance is delayed in mice lacking tuft cell ACh. The coupling of the chemosensory function of tuft cells with fluid secretion creates an epithelium-intrinsic response unit that effects a physiological change within seconds of activation. This response mechanism is shared by tuft cells across tissues, and serves to regulate the epithelial secretion that is both a hallmark of Type 2 immunity and an essential component of homeostatic maintenance at mucosal barriers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler E. Billipp
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Connie Fung
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Lily M. Webeck
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Derek B. Sargent
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Matthew B. Gologorsky
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Margaret M. McDaniel
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Darshan N. Kasal
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - John W. McGinty
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Kaitlyn A. Barrow
- Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Lucille M. Rich
- Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | | | - Mark Sabat
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Jason S. Debley
- Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, Seattle Children’s Hospital, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Michael R. Howitt
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Jakob von Moltke
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
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Billipp TE, Nadjsombati MS, von Moltke J. Tuning tuft cells: new ligands and effector functions reveal tissue-specific function. Curr Opin Immunol 2020; 68:98-106. [PMID: 33166855 DOI: 10.1016/j.coi.2020.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Revised: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Tuft cells are rare chemosensory epithelial cells that monitor their environment and relay messages to the surrounding tissue via secretion of neuromodulatory and immunomodulatory molecules. In the small intestine tuft cells detect helminth infection, protist colonization, and bacterial dysbiosis, and initiate a type 2 immune response characterized by tissue remodeling. In the airways, tuft cells sense bacteria, allergens, and noxious stimuli and drive evasive behavior, neuroinflammation, and anti-bacterial responses. Here we summarize the most recent tuft cell research and discuss how these findings have provided insight into tuft cell diversity. Built around a core program of chemosensing, tuft cell receptors and effector functions are tuned to the unique environmental exposure and physiology of their surrounding tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler E Billipp
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Marija S Nadjsombati
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Jakob von Moltke
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA.
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