Nature Communications (Feb 2024)

Intestinal stroma guides monocyte differentiation to macrophages through GM-CSF

  • Egle Kvedaraite,
  • Magda Lourda,
  • Natalia Mouratidou,
  • Tim Düking,
  • Avinash Padhi,
  • Kirsten Moll,
  • Paulo Czarnewski,
  • Indranil Sinha,
  • Ioanna Xagoraris,
  • Efthymia Kokkinou,
  • Anastasios Damdimopoulos,
  • Whitney Weigel,
  • Olga Hartwig,
  • Telma E. Santos,
  • Tea Soini,
  • Aline Van Acker,
  • Nelly Rahkonen,
  • Malin Flodström Tullberg,
  • Emma Ringqvist,
  • Marcus Buggert,
  • Carl Jorns,
  • Ulrik Lindforss,
  • Caroline Nordenvall,
  • Christopher T. Stamper,
  • David Unnersjö-Jess,
  • Mira Akber,
  • Ruta Nadisauskaite,
  • Jessica Jansson,
  • Niels Vandamme,
  • Chiara Sorini,
  • Marijke Elise Grundeken,
  • Helena Rolandsdotter,
  • George Rassidakis,
  • Eduardo J. Villablanca,
  • Maja Ideström,
  • Stefan Eulitz,
  • Henrik Arnell,
  • Jenny Mjösberg,
  • Jan-Inge Henter,
  • Mattias Svensson

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46076-3
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 1 – 16

Abstract

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Abstract Stromal cells support epithelial cell and immune cell homeostasis and play an important role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) pathogenesis. Here, we quantify the stromal response to inflammation in pediatric IBD and reveal subset-specific inflammatory responses across colon segments and intestinal layers. Using data from a murine dynamic gut injury model and human ex vivo transcriptomic, protein and spatial analyses, we report that PDGFRA+CD142− /low fibroblasts and monocytes/macrophages co-localize in the intestine. In primary human fibroblast-monocyte co-cultures, intestinal PDGFRA+CD142− /low fibroblasts foster monocyte transition to CCR2+CD206+ macrophages through granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Monocyte-derived CCR2+CD206+ cells from co-cultures have a phenotype similar to intestinal CCR2+CD206+ macrophages from newly diagnosed pediatric IBD patients, with high levels of PD-L1 and low levels of GM-CSF receptor. The study describes subset-specific changes in stromal responses to inflammation and suggests that the intestinal stroma guides intestinal macrophage differentiation.