Cell Type– and Stimulation-Dependent Transcriptional Programs Regulated by Atg16L1 and Its Crohn's Disease Risk Variant T300A

Abstract

Genome-wide association studies have identified common genetic variants impacting human diseases; however, there are indications that the functional consequences of genetic polymorphisms can be distinct depending on cell type–specific contexts, which produce divergent phenotypic outcomes. Thus, the functional impact of genetic variation and the underlying mechanisms of disease risk are modified by cell type–specific effects of genotype on pathological phenotypes. In this study, we extend these concepts to interrogate the interdependence of cell type– and stimulation-specific programs influenced by the core autophagy gene Atg16L1 and its T300A coding polymorphism identified by genome-wide association studies as linked with increased risk of Crohn's disease. We applied a stimulation-based perturbational profiling approach to define Atg16L1 T300A phenotypes in dendritic cells and T lymphocytes. Accordingly, we identified stimulus-specific transcriptional signatures revealing T300A-dependent functional phenotypes that mechanistically link inflammatory cytokines, IFN response genes, steroid biosynthesis, and lipid metabolism in dendritic cells and iron homeostasis and lysosomal biogenesis in T lymphocytes. Collectively, these studies highlight the combined effects of Atg16L1 genetic variation and stimulatory context on immune function.