TMEM219 signaling promotes intestinal stem cell death and exacerbates colitis
Mechanisms by which mucosal regeneration is abrogated in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are still under investigation, and a role for an intestinal stem cell (ISC) defect is now emerging. Herein, we report an abnormal ISC death that occurs in Crohn's disease, which exacerbates colitis, limits ISC-dependent mucosal repair, and is controlled through the death factor Transmembrane protein 219 (TMEM219). Large alterations in TMEM219 expression were observed in patients with Crohn's disease, particularly in those with active disease and/or those who were nonresponders to conventional therapy, confirming that TMEM219 signaling is abnormally activated and leads to failure of the mucosal regenerative response. Mechanistic studies revealed a proapoptotic TMEM219-mediated molecular signature in Crohn's disease, which associates with Caspase-8 activation and ISC death. Pharmacological blockade of the IGFBP3/TMEM219 binding/signal with the recombinant protein ecto-TMEM219 restored the self-renewal abilities of miniguts generated from patients with Crohn's disease in vitro and ameliorated DSS-induced and T cell-mediated colitis in vivo, ultimately leading to mucosal healing. Genetic tissue-specific deletion of TMEM219 in ISCs in newly generated TMEM219fl/flLGR5cre mice revived their mucosal regenerative abilities both in vitro and in vivo. Our findings demonstrate that a TMEM219-dependent ISC death exacerbates colitis and that TMEM219 blockade reestablishes intestinal self-renewal properties in IBD.
Authors
- Vera Usuelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9148-4722)
- Monica Zocchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0728-6676)
- Gianluca M. Sampietro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7168-441X)
- Claudia Nardini
- Moufida Ben Nasr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1022-7853)
- Giovanni Amabile
- Manuela Nebuloni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2773-734X)
- Francesca D’Addio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0345-0694)
- Maria Elena Lunati (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3619-3046)
- Monique Zangarini
- Marta Nardini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4858-6480)
- Emma Assi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9363-4234)
- Giovanni Maconi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0810-4026)
- Paolo Fiorina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1093-7724)
- Stefano La Rosa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1941-2403)
- Silvio Danese (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7341-1351)
- Andy Joe Seelam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4211-5485)
- Franco Folli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9824-5222)
- Ida Pastore (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0164-3772)
- Filippo Canducci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5637-6205)
- Massimo Venturini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2983-8328)
- Virna Marin
- Gianvincenzo Zuccotti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2795-9874)
- Sandro Ardizzone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9915-2992)
- Stefano Porzio
- Domenico Corradi
- Anna Maestroni
- Cristian Loretelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7583-8540)
- Adriana Petrazzuolo
- Jun Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0950-8105)
- Basset El Essawy
- Ahmed Abdelasalam
Institutions
- University of Insubria (IT)
- University of Parma (IT)
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- AOL (United States) (US)
- Al-Azhar University (EG)
- University of Milan (IT)
- Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island (US)
- Ospedale San Paolo (IT)
- IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele (IT)
- Ospedale dei Bambini Vittore Buzzi (IT)
- Metropolitana Milanese (Italy) (IT)
- ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco (IT)
- Tongji Hospital (CN)
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Clinical Investigation
- Published
- 2025-05-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1172/jci185783
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Digestive system and related health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 9.09