Crohn’s Disease Pathobiont Adherent-Invasive E coli Disrupts Epithelial Mitochondrial Networks With Implications for Gut Permeability

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Adherent-invasive Escherichia coli are implicated in inflammatory bowel disease, and mitochondrial dysfunction has been observed in biopsy specimens from patients with inflammatory bowel disease. As a novel aspect of adherent-invasive E coli–epithelial interaction, we hypothesized that E coli (strain LF82) would elicit substantial disruption of epithelial mitochondrial form and function. METHODS: Monolayers of human colon-derived epithelial cell lines were exposed to E coli–LF82 or commensal E coli and RNA sequence analysis, mitochondrial function (adenosine triphosphate synthesis) and dynamics (mitochondrial network imaging, immunoblotting for fission and fusion proteins), and epithelial permeability (transepithelial resistance, flux of fluorescein isothiocyanate–dextran and bacteria) were assessed. RESULTS: E coli–LF82 significantly affected epithelial expression of ∼8600 genes, many relating to mitochondrial function. E coli–LF82–infected epithelia showed swollen mitochondria, reduced mitochondrial membrane potential and adenosine triphosphate, and fragmentation of the mitochondrial network: events not observed with dead E coli–LF82, medium from bacterial cultures, or control E coli. Treatment with Mitochondrial Division Inhibitor 1 (Mdivi1, inhibits dynamin-related peptide 1, guanosine triphosphatase principally responsible for mitochondrial fission) or P110 (prevents dynamin-related peptide 1 binding to mitochondrial fission 1 protein) partially reduced E coli–LF82–induced mitochondrial fragmentation in the short term. E coli–LF82–infected epithelia showed loss of the long isoform of optic atrophy factor 1, which mediates mitochondrial fusion. Mitochondrial Division Inhibitor 1 reduced the magnitude of E coli–LF82–induced increased transepithelial flux of fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran. By 8 hours after infection, increased cytosolic cytochrome C and DNA fragmentation were apparent without evidence of caspase-3 or apoptosis inducing factor activation. CONCLUSIONS: Epithelial mitochondrial fragmentation caused by E coli–LF82 could be targeted to maintain cellular homeostasis and mitigate infection-induced loss of epithelial barrier function. Data have been deposited in NCBI’s Gene Expression Omnibus and are accessible through GEO series accession numbers GSE154121 and GSE154122 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE154121).