OBJECTIVE

GPR64/ADGRG2 is an orphan Adhesion G protein-coupled receptor (ADGR) known to be mainly expressed in the parathyroid gland and epididymis. This investigation aimed to delineate the cellular expression of GPR64 throughout the body with focus on the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

METHODS

Transgenic Gpr64 reporter mice were histologically examined throughout the body and reporter protein expression in intestinal tuft cells was confirmed by specific cell ablation. The GPCR repertoire of intestinal Gpr64-positive tuft cells was analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR analysis and in situ hybridization. The Gpr64 was crossed into the general tuft cell reporter Trpm5 to generate small intestinal organoids for time-lapse imaging. Intestinal tuft cells were isolated from small intestine, FACS-purified and transcriptionally compared using RNA-seq analysis.

RESULTS

Expression of the Gpr64 reporter was identified in multiple organs and specifically in olfactory microvillous cells, enteric nerves, and importantly in respiratory and GI tuft cells. In the small intestine, cell ablation targeting Gpr64-expressing epithelial cells eliminated tuft cells. Transcriptional analysis of small intestinal Gpr64 -positive tuft cells confirmed expression of Gpr64 and the chemo-sensors Sucnr1, Gprc5c, Drd3, and Gpr41/Ffar3. Time-lapse studies of organoids from Trpm5:Gpr64 mice revealed sequential expression of initially Trpm5 and subsequently also Gpr64 in maturing intestinal tuft cells. RNA-seq analysis of small intestinal tuft cells based on these two markers demonstrated a dynamic change in expression of transcription factors and GPCRs from young to mature tuft cells.

CONCLUSIONS

GPR64 is expressed in chemosensory epithelial cells across a broad range of tissues; however, in the GI tract, GPR64 is remarkably selectively expressed in mature versus young immunoregulatory tuft cells.