RiboTRAP-seq 揭示秀丽隐杆线虫前肠与后肠在免疫和代谢调控中的空间特异性功能
RiboTRAP-seq identifies spatially distinct functions for the anterior and posterior intestine in immune and metabolic regulation in Caenorhabditis elegans
研究用 RiboTRAP-seq 分别构建秀丽隐杆线虫前部 INT1 细胞与其余 INT2-9 肠细胞的翻译组，发现 INT1 是翻译上独特的肠亚区，富集免疫与应激反应基因。INT1 特异性基因的功能实验显示其在病原回避和个体存活中起作用，且 INT1 通过感知肠腔丙酮酸调控肠道胰岛素拮抗剂 INS-7 的分泌。
来源：eLife · doi.org
The intestine integrates food-derived cues to coordinate organismal physiology, yet the molecular specialization of discrete regions along the intestinal epithelium remains unclear. Here, we generate cell type-specific translatomes of the Caenorhabditis elegans intestine during fasting and refeeding using discrete promoters for the anterior quartet of intestinal cells (INT1) and the remaining eight pairs of intestinal cells (INT2-9). We found that the anterior-most INT1 cells are a translationally distinct intestinal subcompartment that is particularly enriched for immune- and stress response genes. Functional assays using novel INT1-specific genes emerging from this study reveal that these specialized cells play a previously unappreciated role in pathogen avoidance and organismal survival. A second critical function of INT1 cells is their role in sensing and responding to the contents of the gut lumen. We show that luminal pyruvate is the key signal linking bacterial nutrients in the gut to secretion of the gut insulin antagonist INS-7. These findings establish INT1 as sentinel enteroendocrine cells that integrate metabolic and immune cues to couple food status with immune and endocrine responses. Our studies also provide a rich resource for dissecting segment-specific intestinal biology, an overlooked and fertile area for future research.