Early-life Wnt4 expressing colon stromal cells orchestrate lifelong mucosal homeostasis via BMP-driven iNKT cell imprinting.

Abstract

The early-life intestinal microenvironment plays a pivotal role in shaping immune cell development. Here, we identify a colonic Wnt4-expressing stromal cell, enriched during early-life, that promotes iNKT cell proliferation via BMP-MAPK signaling. These stromal cells are spatially associated with iNKT cells and macrophages and exhibit high Bmp2 expression during the neonatal period. Depletion of BMP2 in Wnt4⁺ stromal cells during, but not after, this time window leads to long-lasting reductions in iNKT cells. These stromal cells are shaped by microbial signals, as germ-free and early-life antibiotic-treated mice exhibit increased Wnt4⁺ stromal cell abundance and elevated Bmp2 expression, with excessive iNKT cell accumulation that lasts into adulthood. These persistent changes in iNKT cells due to early-life perturbations are associated with altered susceptibility to later-life mucosal disorders. Importantly, similar stromal cells are present in fetal and neonatal human colon, and human rBMP2 promotes iNKT cell growth. Together, our findings reveal a neonatal colonic stromal niche, orchestrated by microbial cues, that regulates colonic immune homeostasis in later-life.