Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China.
Frontier Research Center for Cell Response, Institute of Immunology, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
Nat Commun. 2024 Feb 12;15(1):1282. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45539-x.
TNF acts as one pathogenic driver for inducing intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) death and substantial intestinal inflammation. How the IEC death is regulated to physiologically prevent intestinal inflammation needs further investigation. Here, we report that EF-hand domain-containing protein D2 (EFHD2), highly expressed in normal intestine tissues but decreased in intestinal biopsy samples of ulcerative colitis patients, protects intestinal epithelium from TNF-induced IEC apoptosis. EFHD2 inhibits TNF-induced apoptosis in primary IECs and intestinal organoids (enteroids). Mice deficient of Efhd2 in IECs exhibit excessive IEC death and exacerbated experimental colitis. Mechanistically, EFHD2 interacts with Cofilin and suppresses Cofilin phosphorylation, thus blocking TNF receptor I (TNFR1) internalization to inhibit IEC apoptosis and consequently protecting intestine from inflammation. Our findings deepen the understanding of EFHD2 as the key regulator of membrane receptor trafficking, providing insight into death receptor signals and autoinflammatory diseases.
TNF 作为诱导肠上皮细胞 (IEC) 死亡和严重肠道炎症的一个致病驱动因素。IEC 死亡如何受到调节以在生理上防止肠道炎症需要进一步研究。在这里,我们报告 EF 手结构域蛋白 D2(EFHD2)在正常肠组织中高度表达,但在溃疡性结肠炎患者的肠道活检样本中减少,它可以保护肠上皮免受 TNF 诱导的 IEC 凋亡。EFHD2 抑制原代 IEC 和肠道类器官(肠类器官)中的 TNF 诱导的凋亡。IEC 中缺乏 Efhd2 的小鼠表现出过度的 IEC 死亡和实验性结肠炎的加剧。在机制上,EFHD2 与丝切蛋白相互作用并抑制丝切蛋白磷酸化,从而阻止 TNF 受体 I(TNFR1)内化以抑制 IEC 凋亡,并因此保护肠道免受炎症。我们的研究结果加深了对 EFHD2 作为膜受体运输关键调节剂的理解,为死亡受体信号和自身炎症性疾病提供了新的见解。