Dclk1 in tuft cells promotes inflammation-driven epithelial restitution and mitigates chronic colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease characterized by defective intestinal barrier integrity toward the microbiota and epithelial damage. Double cortin-like kinase 1 (Dclk1), a marker of intestinal tuft cells, can regulate tissue regenerative responses, but its role in epithelial repair during bacterial-dependent chronic colitis is unclear. We addressed this question using our recently developed mouse model of spontaneous microbiota-dependent colitis induced by mucin-type O-glycan deficiency (DKO), which recapitulates most features of human UC. We generated DKO mice lacking intestinal epithelial Dclk1 (DKO;Dclk1^ΔIEC) and analyzed colitis onset and severity using clinical and histologic indices, immune responses by qPCR and immunostaining, and epithelial responses using proliferation markers and organoid culture. We found 3-4-week-old DKO;Dclk1^ΔIEC mice developed worsened spontaneous colitis characterized by reduced body weight, loose stool, severe colon thickening, epithelial lesions, and inflammatory cell infiltrates compared with DKO mice. The primary defect was an impaired epithelial proliferative response during inflammation. Dclk1 deficiency also reduced inflammation-induced proliferation and growth of colon organoids ex vivo. Mechanistically, Dclk1 expression was important for inflammation-induced Cox2 expression and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production in vivo, and PGE2 rescued proliferative defects in Dclk1-deficient colonic organoids. Although tuft cells were expanded in both DKO and DKO;Dclk1^ΔIEC relative to WT mice, loss of Dclk1 was associated with reduced tuft cell activation (i.e., proliferation) during inflammation. Similar results were found in DKO vs. DKO;Dclk1^ΔIEC mice at 3-6 months of age. Our results support that tuft cells, via Dclk1, are important responders to bacterial-induced colitis by enhancing epithelial repair responses, which in turn limits bacterial infiltration into the mucosa.