Abstract 123: Intestinal Deletion Of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A Reductase Promotes Expansion Of The Resident Stem Cell Compartment

While the intestine is the critical interface between cholesterol absorption and excretion, surprisingly little is known about the role of de novo cholesterol synthesis in this organ and how it affects whole body cholesterol homeostasis. The mevalonate pathway is most well-known for the production of cholesterol, but it is also required for the production of essential non-sterol isoprenoids. 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR), the rate-limiting enzyme in the mevalonate pathway, is regulated by a three-protein complex made up of INSIG, SCAP, and SREBP2. Intestine specific knockouts of Scap and Srebp2 both result in severe enteropathy and reduced mouse survival. Here, we assessed the hypothesis that Hmgcr is required for enterocyte viability. Mice harboring floxed alleles for Hmgcr were bred with the Villin-Cre transgene to specifically knock out this enzyme in the villus and crypt epithelial cells of the small intestine (i-KO). The i-KO mice are viable through adulthood and fertile. Hmgcr is efficiently deleted based on analysis via drop digital PCR and qPCR. RNA sequencing shows reduction in all SREBP2 target genes throughout the mevalonate pathway in intestinal epithelial cells. Lipidomics confirms substantial reductions in abundance of all sterol and non-sterol isoprenoids, except 7-dehydrocholesterol and cholesterol. Cholesterol is likely maintained through reabsorption of biliary cholesterol or increased uptake from the circulation. Circulating cholesterol levels and cholesterol absorption are not altered in i-KO mice, but triglyceride absorption is increased through compensatory changes in bile acid composition and intestinal growth. At the cellular level, the intestine rapidly compensates for loss of Hmgcr via dramatic expansion of the stem cell compartment within the crypts. In conclusion, the mechanisms by which the intestine compensates for genetic loss of Hmgcr include altered triglyceride absorption, bile acid composition, increased absorptive surface area, and expansion of the resident stem cell compartment. Together these studies provide insight into the effects of HMGCR knockout in intestinal development and lipid metabolism.