Frizzled5 controls murine intestinal epithelial cell plasticity through organization of chromatin accessibility

Abstract

The homeostasis of the intestinal epithelium relies on intricate yet insufficiently understood mechanisms of intestinal epithelial plasticity. Here, we elucidate the pivotal role of Frizzled5 (Fzd5), a Wnt pathway receptor, as a determinant of murine intestinal epithelial cell fate. Deletion of Fzd5 in Lgr5⁺ intestinal stem cells (ISCs) impairs their self-renewal, whereas its deletion in Krt19⁺ cells disrupts lineage generation, without affecting crypt integrity in either case. However, a broader deletion of Fzd5 across the epithelium leads to substantial crypt deterioration. Integrated analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and single-cell ATAC-seq (scATAC-seq) identifies that Fzd5 governs chromatin accessibility, orchestrating the regulation of stem- and lineage-related gene expression mainly in ISCs and progenitor cells. In summary, our findings provide insights into the regulatory role of Fzd5 in governing intestinal epithelial plasticity.

Keywords: Fzd5; Wnt pathway; chromatin accessibility; intestinal stem cell; plasticity; single-cell transcriptome and epigenome.