| First Author | Zhou W | Year | 2022 |
| Journal | Nature | Volume | 609 |
| Issue | 7925 | Pages | 159-165 |
| PubMed ID | 35831503 | Mgi Jnum | J:339917 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:7525132 | Doi | 10.1038/s41586-022-04934-4 |
| Citation | Zhou W, et al. (2022) ZBTB46 defines and regulates ILC3s that protect the intestine. Nature 609(7925):159-165 |
| abstractText | RORgammat is a lineage-specifying transcription factor that is expressed by immune cells that are enriched in the gastrointestinal tract and promote immunity, inflammation and tissue homeostasis(1-15). However, fundamental questions remain with regard to the cellular heterogeneity among these cell types, the mechanisms that control protective versus inflammatory properties and their functional redundancy. Here we define all RORgammat(+) immune cells in the intestine at single-cell resolution and identify a subset of group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) that expresses ZBTB46, a transcription factor specifying conventional dendritic cells(16-20). ZBTB46 is robustly expressed by CCR6(+) lymphoid-tissue-inducer-like ILC3s that are developmentally and phenotypically distinct from conventional dendritic cells, and its expression is imprinted by RORgammat, fine-tuned by microbiota-derived signals and increased by pro-inflammatory cytokines. ZBTB46 restrains the inflammatory properties of ILC3s, including the OX40L-dependent expansion of T helper 17 cells and the exacerbated intestinal inflammation that occurs after enteric infection. Finally, ZBTB46(+) ILC3s are a major source of IL-22, and selective depletion of this population renders mice susceptible to enteric infection and associated intestinal inflammation. These results show that ZBTB46 is a transcription factor that is shared between conventional dendritic cells and ILC3s, and identify a cell-intrinsic function for ZBTB46 in restraining the pro-inflammatory properties of ILC3s and a non-redundant role for ZBTB46(+) ILC3s in orchestrating intestinal health. |
