Integrated Genomics of Crohn’s Disease Risk Variant Identifies a Role for CLEC12A in Antibacterial Autophagy

• Integrated genomics reveals risk-allele-specific autophagy pathway interactions
• CLEC12A is important for antibacterial autophagy in epithelial and immune cells
• CLEC12A knockdown amplifies antibacterial autophagy defects in ATG16L1∗300A cells
• Clec12a−/− mice are more susceptible to Salmonella infection in vivo

SummaryThe polymorphism ATG16L1 T300A, associated with increased risk of Crohn’s disease, impairs pathogen defense mechanisms including selective autophagy, but specific pathway interactions altered by the risk allele remain unknown. Here, we use perturbational profiling of human peripheral blood cells to reveal that CLEC12A is regulated in an ATG16L1-T300A-dependent manner. Antibacterial autophagy is impaired in CLEC12A-deficient cells, and this effect is exacerbated in the presence of the ATG16L1∗300A risk allele. Clec12a−/− mice are more susceptible to Salmonella infection, supporting a role for CLEC12A in antibacterial defense pathways in vivo. CLEC12A is recruited to sites of bacterial entry, bacteria-autophagosome complexes, and sites of sterile membrane damage. Integrated genomics identified a functional interaction between CLEC12A and an E3-ubiquitin ligase complex that functions in antibacterial autophagy. These data identify CLEC12A as early adaptor molecule for antibacterial autophagy and highlight perturbational profiling as a method to elucidate defense pathways in complex genetic disease.

Graphical AbstractFigure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide