Mechanosensitive Ion Channel PIEZO1 as a Key Regulator of Intestinal Fibrosis in Crohn’s Disease

作者：Luyao Zhang, Qiuyuan Liu, Xiaodong Yang, Chang Su, Hao Ding, Jing Hu, Wei Han, Juan Wu, Manli Zhang, Li Zuo, Qiao Mei · 发表于：Inflammatory Bowel Diseases · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1093/ibd/izaf041 · 被引用次数：11 · 研究领域：Erythrocyte Function and Pathophysiology、Blood properties and coagulation、Biomarkers in Disease Mechanisms

BACKGROUND: We aimed to elucidate the function of the mechanosensitive ion channel PIEZO1 in intestinal fibrosis, which is invariably associated with Crohn's disease (CD) and often results in strictures and obstructions, requiring surgical intervention. Notably, PIEZO1 is strongly expressed in fibrotic tissues and linked with fibrotic progression. METHODS: Intestinal tissues were procured from 28 patients diagnosed with CD and 8 healthy control subjects. Histological and immunofluorescence assays verified that PIEZO1 is substantially overexpressed in fibrotic intestinal tissues and is involved in epithelial‒mesenchymal transition (EMT). Further gene knockout experiments and transcriptome sequencing elucidated the specific role of PIEZO1 in the pathogenesis of intestinal fibrosis in CD. We generated mice with Piezo1 deletion specifically in intestinal epithelial cells (Piezo1f/fVilcre) to validate in vivo that inhibiting Piezo1 function attenuates or reverses intestinal fibrosis associated with CD. RESULTS: PIEZO1 expression was strongly increased in the fibrotic small intestine of CD patients, thereby promoting EMT and exacerbating intestinal fibrosis. In vivo investigations revealed that the conditional suppression of Piezo1 in intestinal epithelial cells significantly mitigated intestinal fibrosis in dextran sulphate sodium (DSS)- and 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced chronic colitis model mice. In vitro examinations revealed that Piezo1 expression in intest...