Bmi1 regulates murine intestinal stem cell proliferation and self-renewal downstream of Notch

Genetic data indicate that abrogation of Notch-Rbpj or Wnt-β-catenin pathways results in the loss of the intestinal stem cells (ISCs). However, whether the effect of Notch is direct or due to the aberrant differentiation of the transit-amplifying cells into post-mitotic goblet cellsisunknown.Toaddressthisissue,wehavegeneratedcomposite tamoxifen-inducible intestine-specific genetic mouse models and analyzed the expression of intestinal differentiation markers. Importantly, we found that activation of β-catenin partially rescues thedifferentiationphenotypeofRbpjdeletionmutants,butnottheloss of the ISC compartment. Moreover, we identified Bmi1, which is expressed in the ISC and progenitor compartments, as a gene that is co-regulatedbyNotchand β-catenin.LossofBmi1resultedinreduced proliferation in the ISC compartment accompanied by p16 INK4a and p19 ARF (splice variants of Cdkn2a) accumulation, and increased differentiation to the post-mitotic goblet cell lineage that partially mimics Notch loss-of-function defects. Finally, we provide evidence that Bmi1 contributes to ISC self-renewal.