Isoform-specific regulation of Drosophila gut immunity and regeneration by the POU/Oct transcription factor Nub/Pdm1

Abstract: Innate immune reactions protect organisms against a variety of infections.  In metazoans, these reactions involve both cellular and humoral responses. The immune responses have to be well-tuned, as excessive immune activation is associated with tissue-specific pathologies. However, the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms underlying how immune responses are balanced are still not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the Drosophila POU/Oct transcription factor Nubbin (Nub) in regulating Drosophila innate immunity, with a special focus on intestinal immune and epithelium homeostasis.In Paper I, we show that the nub gene encodes two independent transcription factor isoforms, Nub-PB and Nub-PD. The short isoform, Nub-PD, acts as a repressor of NF-κB/Relish-dependent antimicrobial peptide (AMP) gene expression in healthy flies. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Nub-PD directly binds to Oct sequence motifs located in the distal promoter region of several AMP genes, thereby inhibiting gene transcription. In addition, loss of Nub-PD diminishes the number of cultivatable gut bacteria, possibly due to high expression levels of AMP genes. In Paper II, we show that the large isoform, Nub-PB, in a sharp contrast to Nub-PD, activates AMP gene expression, both independently of and together with Relish. Importantly, Nub-PB and Nub-PD regulated the same target AMP gene expression antagonistically. In addition, Nub-PB expression in gut enterocytes (ECs) negatively correlated with gut microbial loads and host lifespan. Finally, we found that enforced Nub-PB expression in ECs promotes a pro-inflammatory signature and stimulated epithelium renewal. In Paper III, we show that Nub-PB and Nub-PD are not only expressed in differentiated gut ECs, but also present in midgut progenitor cells. Depletion of Nub-PB in gut progenitor cells results in hyperproliferation of intestinal stem cells (ISCs), via direct or indirect de-repression of Escargot expression. Furthermore, enforced Nub-PB expression in ISCs and enteroblasts (EBs) inhibited Notch RNAi-induced tumor formation. In addition, Nub-PD was necessary for both basal and infection-induced ISC proliferation. Strikingly, Nub-PB and Nub-PD regulated ISC proliferation in antagonistic manners. In Paper IV, we created a Nub-PB-specific mutant and found that this mutant impairs normal gut development, giving rise to short and wide anterior midguts. Furthermore, loss of Nub-PB promoted rapid ISC proliferation, increased EC delamination, and increased numbers of enteroendocrine cells in the anterior midgut.Taken together, we have characterized a novel isoform-specific regulatory mechanism, involved in maintaining Drosophila intestinal immune homeostasis and epithelial regeneration.