Immune-Mediated Reprogramming of Intestinal Stem Cells Drives STAT1-Dependent Myc Expression and Epithelial Regeneration in GI-Gvhd

Crypt apoptosis and regeneration are characteristic findings in GI-GVHD. Intestinal stem cells (ISCs) are critical for maintaining the intestinal epithelium, but their frequencies are reduced in experimental GVHD, and the mechanisms driving crypt regeneration in this context are poorly understood. To better understand the impact of GVHD on individual epithelial components, we performed single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) of purified small intestine crypts from B6 mice during homeostasis and five days after B6 into B6 syngeneic (syn) or B10.Br into B6 allogeneic (allo) BMT. Sequenced cells were first partitioned into distinct clusters using PhenoGraph, and the cluster identities were annotated based on their gene expression profiles. Unsupervised clustering indicated multiple subpopulations within the various recognized crypt components (Fig 1A). While secretory lineages clustered similarly across experimental conditions, there was highly distinct clustering among ISC populations and striking dissimilarity between allo and syn ISCs. Quantification by computing the subpopulation's phenotypic distance, a composite score integrating both the number and amplitude of differentially expressed genes, indicated that ISCs demonstrated the greatest transcriptional change in response to GVHD among all crypt lineages (Fig 1B). Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) highlighted activation of the interferon-γ (IFNγ) pathway in allo ISCs, and differential gene expression indicated that STAT1 was their most highly upregulated transcription factor. We then performed MHC-mismatched allo-BMT into STAT1-floxed x villin-Cre recipients. Consistent with a role in IFNγ-related toxicity, STAT1-deficient recipients initially demonstrated reduced GVHD pathology, as well as a reduction in proliferating Ki67 + cells (Fig 2A). However, the pathology reduction in STAT1-deficient recipients was transient, while reduction in crypt proliferation persisted. STAT1-deficient recipients ultimately demonstrated increased mortality after allo-BMT, indicating a complex response to epithelial STAT1 signaling in GVHD. While IFNγ can induce epithelial apoptosis and kill organoid cultures, organoid exposure to IFNγ augmented size even at IFNγ concentrations that did not impair viability in a STAT1-dependent manner, and co-culture with allo T cells augmented organoid size (Fig 2B, C). Moreover, cell cycle analysis showed augmentation of cell cycle in ISCs after IFNγ treatment in association with upregulation of cyclin D1 (Fig 2D), and human organoids also showed increased size in response to IFNγ treatment, further suggesting that this growth promotion was not simply a secondary response to tissue injury. In addition to the IFNγ signaling, GSEA of allo ISCs indicated activation of the Myc pathway. scRNAseq data showed specific upregulation of Myc in allo ISCs (Fig 3A). Myc expression within individual ISCs indicated that greater STAT1 expression and IFNγ signaling directly correlated with Myc expression in the same ISCs, providing a potential direct link between T-cell-derived IFNγ and ISC-dependent regeneration (Fig 3B). Additionally, intestinal organoid qPCR showed that Myc expression was upregulated after IFNγ treatment, and scRNAseq of IFNγ-treated organoids indicated this Myc upregulation was restricted to the ISC/progenitor compartment. Although Myc is downstream of Wnt signaling, which is critical for ISC maintenance, expression of the representative Wnt target gene Axin2 was downregulated after IFNγ treatment, and Irf1, a representative IFNγ/STAT1 target gene, was upregulated, suggesting that IFNγ/STAT1 signaling could replace Wnt/β-catenin as a driver of ISC Myc expression. We next examined Myc function and found that treatment with the Myc inhibitor 10058-F4 suppressed IFNγ-dependent organoid growth (Fig 3C). Finally, immunofluorescent staining showed Myc protein expression in intestinal crypts after allo-BMT in a STAT1-dependent manner (Fig 3D), and Myc inhibitor treatment in vivo suppressed crypt epithelial proliferation in mice with GVHD. In summary, we found that epithelial STAT1 contributes to crypt regeneration in GVHD by transmitting T-cell-derived JAK/STAT cytokine signaling to activate Myc expression in ISCs. Clinical use of JAK inhibitors in GVHD may inhibit this regenerative response, necessitating concurrent interventions aimed at restoring it. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Hanash: Evive Biotech: Ended employment in the past 24 months.