Project description:Metabolic programs and host defense are highly integrated to ensure proper immune responses during stress. Central to these responses, mTOR regulates immune functions by sensing and integrating environmental cues, yet how these systems are coordinated at the intestinal surface remains undefined. We show that the antimicrobial peptide α-defensin is functionally sustained during nutrient deprivation due to regulation of defensin-processing enzyme MMP7 by microbiota- and host-derived factors. Unlike other antimicrobial peptides, the MMP7-α-defensin axis remains active during nutrient fluctuations, providing essential protection against enteric pathogens. Sustained Mmp7 expression requires the microbiota and is mediated by de-repression of the transcription activator Atoh1 upon attenuation of the transcriptional repressor Hes1 in intestinal epithelial cells. Hes1 levels are regulated via mTOR and controlled translationally, constituting a metabolism-translation-transcription loop. Disrupting this loop by supplying nutrients paradoxically compromises anti-bacterial defense. Together, these results uncover a regulatory circuit that couples host nutrient status to epithelial anti-microbial immunity.
Project description:To investigate whether intestinal Hes1 expression was translationally regulated during nutrient deprivation, we performed ribosome profiling of ileum from fed and fasted mice.
Project description:To investigate target molecules of HES1, we transduced GFP or HES1 into mouse chondrocyte cell line ATDC5, and performed the microarray analysis. HES1 overexpression increased inflammation-related genes including Il6 and Il1rl1.
Project description:To investigate the role of HES1 during glucocorticoid signaling in the liver, we employed whole-genome microarray expressions in liver mRNA extracted from control and Hes1-liver knockout male mice (HESKOL) that had been adrenalectomized to remove endogenous glucocorticoids.