Location-specific effect of microbiota and MyD88-dependent signaling on Wnt/β-catenin pathway and intestinal stem cells.

Intestinal homeostasis depends on the proper activity of the intestinal stem cells (ISCs) and an appropriate host response to the normal resident microbiota. The question on the effect of microbiota on ISCs behavior has not been addressed yet. Canonical Wnt pathway and ISC gene expression signature was compared in germfree vs. conventional and MyD88(-/-) vs. Myd88(+/+) mice based on publicly available gene expression data sets. Microbiota and MyD88-dependent signaling have distinct effects on the Wnt pathway and ISC at gene expression level. In addition, the effect of microbiota and MyD88-dependent signaling on Wnt pathway and ISCs show regional variation. The net effect of microbiota on Wnt pathway and ISCs cannot be inferred from the available data. Nonetheless, the data are suggestive of a potential regulatory mechanism of the Wnt pathway by the microbiota and plausibly by any alteration in the microbiota composition.