%0 Journal Article
%T Induction of autophagy in Cx3cr1+ mononuclear cells limits IL-23/IL-22 axis-mediated intestinal fibrosis
%J -
%D 2019
%R https://doi.org/10.1038/s41385-019-0146-4
%X Intestinal fibrosis is an excessive proliferation of myofibroblasts and deposition of collagen, a condition frequently seen in Crohn¡¯s disease (CD). The mechanism underlying myofibroblast hyper-proliferation in CD needs to be better understood. In this report, we found that mTOR inhibitor rapamycin or mTOR deletion in CX3Cr1+ mononuclear phagocytes inhibits expression of interleukin (IL)£¿23, accompanied by reduced intestinal production of IL-22 and ameliorated fibrosis in the TNBS-induced fibrosis mouse model. This inhibition of IL-23 expression is associated with elevated autophagy activity. Ablating the autophagy gene Atg7 increases the expression of IL-23, leading to increased expression of IL-22 and increased fibrosis. Both induction of IL-22 and intestinal fibrosis occurred in RAG£¿/£¿ mice and depletion of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) attenuates the fibrotic reaction, suggesting that the pro-fibrotic process is independent of T and B cells. Moreover, IL-22 facilitates the transformation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts. Finally, the fibrotic reaction was attenuated upon neutralization of either IL-23 or IL-22. Altogether, this study elucidated a signaling cascade underlying intestinal fibrosis in which altered mTOR/autophagy in CX3Cr1+ mononuclear phagocytes up-regulates the IL-23/IL-22 axis, leading to an excessive fibrotic response. Thus, our findings suggest that this cascade could be a therapeutic target for alleviation of CD fibrosis
%U https://www.nature.com/articles/s41385-019-0146-4