Atg16L1 T300A variant decreases selective autophagy resulting in altered cytokine signaling and decreased antibacterial defense

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 May 27;111(21):7741-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1407001111. Epub 2014 May 12.

Abstract

A coding polymorphism (Thr300Ala) in the essential autophagy gene, autophagy related 16-like 1 (ATG16L1), confers increased risk for the development of Crohn disease, although the mechanisms by which single disease-associated polymorphisms contribute to pathogenesis have been difficult to dissect given that environmental factors likely influence disease initiation in these patients. Here we introduce a knock-in mouse model expressing the Atg16L1 T300A variant. Consistent with the human polymorphism, T300A knock-in mice do not develop spontaneous intestinal inflammation, but exhibit morphological defects in Paneth and goblet cells. Selective autophagy is reduced in multiple cell types from T300A knock-in mice compared with WT mice. The T300A polymorphism significantly increases caspase 3- and caspase 7-mediated cleavage of Atg16L1, resulting in lower levels of full-length Atg16Ll T300A protein. Moreover, Atg16L1 T300A is associated with decreased antibacterial autophagy and increased IL-1β production in primary cells and in vivo. Quantitative proteomics for protein interactors of ATG16L1 identified previously unknown nonoverlapping sets of proteins involved in ATG16L1-dependent antibacterial autophagy or IL-1β production. These findings demonstrate how the T300A polymorphism leads to cell type- and pathway-specific disruptions of selective autophagy and suggest a mechanism by which this polymorphism contributes to disease.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Autophagy / genetics
  • Autophagy-Related Proteins
  • Blotting, Western
  • Carrier Proteins / genetics*
  • Chromatography, Liquid
  • Crohn Disease / genetics
  • Crohn Disease / immunology*
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Gene Knock-In Techniques
  • Goblet Cells / pathology
  • Mice
  • Paneth Cells / pathology*
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / genetics*
  • Proteomics
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Salmonella Infections / immunology*
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Substances

  • Atg16l1 protein, mouse
  • Autophagy-Related Proteins
  • Carrier Proteins