V0-ATPase downregulation induces MVID-like brush border defects independently of apical trafficking in the mammalian intestine

SummaryIntestinal microvillus atrophy is a major cause of enteropathies such as idiopathic or congenital diarrhea that are often associated with severe morbidity. It can be caused by genetic disorders, inflammatory diseases, toxins or pathogens. In particular, Microvillus inclusion disease (MVID) is characterized by a chronic intractable diarrhea and a severe microvillus atrophy. It is triggered by mutations in MYO5B, STX3, MUNC18.2 or UNC45A which alter epithelial polarity by affecting apical trafficking in intestinal epithelial cells. Furthermore, we recently established that the depletion of the V0 sector of the V-ATPase complex induces an MVID-like phenotype in C. elegans. In this study we investigated the function of the V0-ATPase complex in mouse intestinal organoids. We found that its depletion also triggers a very severe microvillus atrophy in this model. Furthermore, we established that the polarity of intestinal cells is affected in a patient carrying mutations in TCIRG1 which encodes a V0-ATPase subunit. However, V0- ATPase depletion does not recapitulate other MVID-specific phenotypes such as subapical vesicle accumulation and Rab11+ endosomes mislocalization. Finally, we found that the apical localization of the V0-ATPase is disrupted in MVID patients. Altogether these results suggest a role for the V0-ATPase in microvillus atrophy which might be independent from apical trafficking.