Abstract
Mucosal immunity protects a host from intestinal inflammation and infection and is profoundly influenced by symbiotic bacteria. Here we report that in mice symbiotic bacteria directed selective cargo sorting in Paneth cells to promote symbiosis through Nod2, a cytosolic bacterial sensor, and the multifunctional protein kinase LRRK2, both encoded by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-associated genes. Commensals recruited Nod2 onto lysozyme-containing dense core vesicles (DCVs), which was required for DCV localization of LRRK2 and a small GTPase, Rab2a. Deficiency of Nod2, LRRK2 or Rab2a or depletion of commensals resulted in lysosomal degradation of lysozyme. Thus, commensal bacteria and host factors orchestrate the lysozyme-sorting process to protect the host from enteric infection, implicating Paneth cell dysfunction in IBD pathogenesis.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank M. Cookson (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA) for the LRRK2 expression vector, T. Kufer (Universität Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany) for the Nod2 expression vector, H. Tang (Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China) for L. monocytogenes strain 10403s, and Z. Chang (Tsinghua University, Beijing, China) for yeast two-hybrid screening reagents. The authors thank H. Zhang (Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China) for helpful discussions. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31271521, 31422019, 81370906), the National Basic Research Program of China (2013CB531405, 2013CB531406), the Thousand Young Talents Program of China, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences–Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNCASGWP-2012-2). Z.Q. was supported by National Science Foundation of China (81101923) and the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (13G20203).
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Q.Z. and Y.P. were responsible for the execution of experiments and data analysis. Y.P. and R.Y. were responsible for organoid culture. H. Wang and X.Z. were responsible for imaging analysis. B.Z., W.L. and H. Wei were responsible for the germ-free facility. Z.L. and Q.Z. wrote the manuscript with input from other authors. Z.L. supervised the study.
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Integrated supplementary information
Supplementary Figure 1 LRRK2 deficiency leads to enhanced susceptibility to intestinal infection and altered microbiota.
(a) Validation of LRRK2 immunostaining. Confocal images of Lrrk2−/− ileal sections immunostained with an anti-LRRK2 (clone c41-2). Multiple images are aligned to show a complete villus. Horizontal gray lines indicate where the images are aligned. Dashed yellow lines show the base of the crypts. Scale bar, 20 μm. (b) Flow cytometry analysis of CD24 and lysozyme in isolated cells from mouse ileal crypts. (c) Immunoblotting analysis of indicated proteins in isolated cell populations. Actin was used as a loading control. (d) Bacterial numbers (CFU) in spleen and liver from wild-type (WT) (n = 5) and Lrrk2−/− (n = 5) mice 24 h (left) and 48 h (right) after they were infected with 104 CFU of L. monocytogenes by tail vein injection. NS, P > 0.05, Mann-Whitney test. (e,f) The relative abundance of dominant phyla (e) and orders/families (f) identified from pyrosequencing data. Families with an average abundance greater than 1% are shown in the graph. The data regarding all the families are presented in Supplementary Table 1. (g) Principal-component analysis plot showing the clustering pattern between wild-type (n = 8) and Lrrk2−/− (n = 8) mice. Blue oval, wild-type mice; red oval, Lrrk2−/− mice. Distances were calculated using OTU abundance data. Mice of different genotypes were housed in separate cages. Numbers 1–5 of one genotype shared a cage. Numbers 6–8 of one genotype were from three different cages. Each symbol (d,g) represents an individual animal; small horizontal lines indicate the median values. Data are representative of three (a–d) independent experiments.
Supplementary Figure 2 LRRK2 deficiency does not affect the expression or secretion of AMPs other than lysozyme in Paneth cells.
(a) PAS staining of crypts from wild-type and Lrrk2−/− mice. Scale bars, 50 μm. (b) Electron microscopy images of crypts from wild-type and Lrrk2−/− mice. Arrowheads indicate DCVs with enlarged halo regions. Scale bars, 2 μm. (c) Quantification of DCVs with enlarged halo regions in wild-type and Lrrk2−/− mice as shown in b. A halo region thickness > 0.2 μm was defined as enlarged. A total of approximately 500 DCVs from 2 mice of each genotype were used for quantification. Data are expressed as mean and s.e.m. *P < 0.01, Student’s t-test. (d) Immunoblotting analysis of Reg3γ and procryptdin in isolated crypts from indicated animals. Actin was used as a loading control. Quantitation of protein levels by densitometry from three independent experiments, as shown on the left. NS, P > 0.05, Student’s t-test. (e) Whole-mount images taken immediately above the ileal mucosal surface in wild-type and Lrrk2−/− mice stained with Helix pomatia lectin (Lectin-HPA) and anti-procryptdin. Scale bars, 20 μm. (f) Schematic diagram of the treatment regimen. Four groups of mice were treated with recombinant lysozyme or PBS (vehicle) by oral gavage once a day for 7 d before being infected with 109 CFU of L. monocytogenes. Fecal samples were collected 10 h after infection. Spleen and liver tissues were harvested 72 h after infection. Data are representative of three (a,b,d,e; mean and s.e.m. in d) independent experiments.
Supplementary Figure 3 Deficiency of LRRK2 or Rab2a leads to lysosomal degradation of lysozyme in Paneth cells in cultured organoids.
(a) Confocal images of lysozyme and procryptdin in cultured wild-type organoids. The boxed area is shown at higher magnification in the panels below. Scale bar, 10 μm. (b) Confocal images of lysozyme and procryptdin in cultured Lrrk2−/− organoids mock treated or treated with 1 μg/ml Brefeldin A for 24 h. Boxed areas are shown at higher magnification in the panels below. Scale bar, 10 μm. (c) Immunoblotting (upper panels) of indicated proteins and confocal images (lower panels) of lysozyme and procryptdin in cultured Lrrk2−/− crypt organoids transfected with siRNA specific for Rab27a or control. (d) Immunoblotting analyses of LRRK2 and Rab2a in cultured crypt organoids transiently transfected with siRNA specific for Rab2a or control. Actin was used as the loading control. (e) Confocal images of lysozyme and procryptdin in cultured wild-type organoids transfected with siRNA oligos against Rab2a and then treated with 100 μM leupeptin or mock treated for 24 h. Boxed areas are shown at higher magnification in the panels below. Scale bars, 10 μm. Data are representative of three (a–e) independent experiments.
Supplementary Figure 4 Lysozyme in Paneth cells is degraded by lysosomes in GF mice.
(a) Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of mRNA encoding lysozyme (Lyz) among mRNA in isolated crypts from SPF and GF mice. mRNA results were calculated as described in Figure 3c. Data are expressed as the average for three individual mice ± s.e.m. NS, P > 0.05, Student’s t-test. (b) Immunohistochemical staining of lysozyme in ileal sections from SPF, GF and ex-GF mice. Scale bars, 10 μm. (c) RGB analysis of images from Figure 5c. RGB values were determined along the white dotted lines (from basal to apical) indicated in the merged images with the RGB tool in Image J. (d) Immunoblotting of lysozyme in isolated SPF and GF crypts. Actin was used as the loading control. (e) Confocal images of lysozyme and procryptdin in cultured GF organoids treated with 100 μM leupeptin or mock treated for 24 h. Boxed areas are shown at higher magnification in the panels below. Scale bars, 10 μm. (f) Immunoblotting of lysozyme in SPF and GF organoids treated as in e. Actin was used as the loading control. Data are representative of three (a,b,d–f) independent experiments.
Supplementary Figure 5 The presence of commensal bacteria is required for DCV localization of LRRK2 and Rab2a.
(a,b) RGB analysis of images from Figure 5e,f. RGB values were determined along the white dotted lines (from basal to apical) indicated in the merged images with the RGB tool in Image J. (c) Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of mRNA encoding LRRK2 and Rab2a among all mRNA in isolated crypts from SPF and GF mice. mRNA results were calculated as described in Figure 3c. Data are expressed as the average for three individual mice + s.e.m. *P < 0.05; NS, P > 0.05, Student’s t-test. (d) Immunoblot of LRRK2 and Rab2a in lysates prepared from isolated crypts from SPF and GF mice. Actin was used as the loading control. Data are representative of three (c,d) independent experiments.
Supplementary Figure 6 Nod2 deficiency leads to the lysosomal degradation of lysozyme in Paneth cells.
(a,b) Immunoblotting of Nod2 (a) and immunofluorescence imaging (b) of lysozyme in crypt organoids transfected with siRNA specific for Nod2 or control siRNA. Boxed areas are shown at higher magnification in the panels below. Red dashed lines outline Paneth cells. Scale bars, 10 μm. (c) Comparable lysozyme staining by colorimetric IHC in wild-type and Nod2−/− crypts. Scale bars, 20 μm. (d) Bacterial numbers in feces 10 h after infection and in livers and spleens 72 h after infection in wild-type (n = 10) and Nod2−/− (n = 10) mice infected with 109 CFU of L. monocytogenes by oral gavage. Wild-type and Nod2−/− mice were cohoused for 2 weeks prior to infection. Each symbol represents an individual mouse; small horizontal lines indicate the median values. *P < 0.01, Mann-Whitney test. (e) Confocal images of lysozyme and procryptdin in cultured Nod2−/− organoids treated with 100 μM leupeptin for 24 h or mock treated. Boxed areas are shown at higher magnification in the lower panels. Scale bars, 10 μm. (f) Immunoblot of lysozyme in Nod2−/− organoids treated as in e. Actin was used as the loading control. (g) Confocal images of SPF wild-type and Nod2−/− crypts immunostained with anti-Nod2. (h) Confocal images of Nod2 and lysozyme in SPF wild-type and Nod2−/− crypts. Nuclei are shown in blue. Scale bars, 10 μm. (i) Immunoblot of Nod2 in isolated CD24+ Paneth cells. Actin was used as a loading control. Data are representative of two (a,b,d) or three (c,e–i) independent experiments.
Supplementary Figure 7 LPS treatment restores lysozyme protein expression in Paneth cells in GF mice.
(a) Confocal images of lysozyme and procryptdin in cultured crypt organoids from GF mice treated with LPS (2 μg/ml), iE-DAP (10 μg/ml), flagellin (10 μg/ml), Pam3CSK4 (2 μg/ml) or dA:dT (10 μg/ml) or mock-treated for 24 h. Boxed areas are shown at higher magnification in the panels below. Scale bars, 10 μm. (b) Confocal images of lysozyme and procryptdin in crypts from GF mice receiving LPS at a dose of 500 μg per mouse or PBS (mock) by oral gavage. Scale bars, 10 μm. (c) Percentage of Lyz+ DCVs as shown in b. DCVs from 30 Paneth cells per mouse were quantified for two mice for each treatment condition. Data are expressed as the average + s.e.m. *P < 0.01, Student’s t-test. (d) Confocal images of lysozyme and procryptdin in ileal crypts from wild-type and Tlr4−/− mice. Blue, counterstained nuclei. Scale bars, 10 μm. (e–g) Confocal images of indicated proteins in ileal crypts from mock- or LPS-treated GF mice as treated in b. Blue, counterstained nuclei. Scale bars, 10 μm. Data are representatives of three (a) or two (b,d–g) independent experiments.
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Zhang, Q., Pan, Y., Yan, R. et al. Commensal bacteria direct selective cargo sorting to promote symbiosis. Nat Immunol 16, 918–926 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.3233
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.3233
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