ARHGEF2 isoform switching couples intestinal epithelial barrier function with autophagic host defense response to pathogens.
Chen Shuyuan S, Diwaker Alka A, Li Xi X, Salamah Abdulmajeed A et al.
Intestinal epithelial integrity is essential for host defense, yet how epithelial junctional scaffolds coordinate antimicrobial immunity remains unclear. We show that the long GEF-H1 isoforms (mouse Arhgef2-207; human ARHGEF2-219) localize to adherens junctions in polarized epithelial cells through interactions with actin and Nectin-3, whereas the shorter Arhgef2-201 isoform localizes to tight junctions. Conditional deletion of epithelial Arhgef2-207 induces Arhgef2-201 expression, disrupts barrier integrity, activates autophagy, and causes small-intestinal inflammation. In human intestinal organoids, Listeria monocytogenes selectively depletes junction-associated ARHGEF2-219, triggering a switch to ARHGEF2-201 and RhoA- and STING-mediated autophagic signaling. This transition coincides with loss of the Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase and epithelial polarity. Here we show that a pathogen-induced ARHGEF2 isoform switch links junctional perturbation to autophagic responses and immune activation, revealing a mechanism that couples barrier disruption to cell-intrinsic antimicrobial defense.