In the intestine, interleukin (IL)-23 and IL-22 from immune cells in the lamina propria contribute to maintenance of the gut epithelial barrier through the induction of antimicrobial production and the promotion of epithelial cell proliferation. Several previous studies suggested that some of the functions of the IL-23/IL-22 axis on intestinal epithelial cells are shared between the small and large intestines. However, the similarities and differences of the IL-23/IL-22 axis on epithelial cells between these two anatomical sites remain unclear. Here, we comprehensively analyzed the gene expression of intestinal epithelial cells in the ileum and colon of germ-free, Il23^−/−, and Il22^−/− mice by RNA-sequencing. We found that while the IL-23/IL-22 axis is largely dependent on gut microbiota in the small intestine, it is much less dependent on it in the large intestine. In addition, the negative regulation of lipid metabolism in the epithelial cells by IL-23 and IL-22 in the small intestine was revealed, whereas the positive regulation of epithelial cell proliferation by IL-23 and IL-22 in the large intestine was highlighted. These findings shed light on the intestinal site-specific role of the IL-23/IL-22 axis in maintaining the physiological functions of intestinal epithelial cells.

中文翻译：

---

小肠上皮细胞和大肠上皮细胞之间 IL-23/IL-22 依赖性基因表达对微生物群的差异依赖性

在肠道中，固有层免疫细胞产生的白细胞介素 (IL)-23 和 IL-22 通过诱导抗菌剂产生和促进上皮细胞增殖，有助于维持肠道上皮屏障。先前的几项研究表明，肠上皮细胞上的 IL-23/IL-22 轴的一些功能在小肠和大肠之间共享。然而，这两个解剖部位上皮细胞上 IL-23/IL-22 轴的异同仍不清楚。在这里，我们通过RNA测序全面分析了无菌小鼠、Il23 ^−/−和Il22 ^{−/−小鼠的回肠和结肠中肠上皮细胞的基因表达。}我们发现，虽然 IL-23/IL-22 轴在很大程度上依赖于小肠中的肠道微生物群，但它在大肠中的依赖性要小得多。此外，还揭示了小肠中IL-23和IL-22对上皮细胞脂质代谢的负向调节，而大肠中IL-23和IL-22对上皮细胞增殖的正向调节。这些发现揭示了 IL-23/IL-22 轴在维持肠上皮细胞生理功能中的肠道位点特异性作用。