Mitochondrial perturbation in the intestine causes microbiota-dependent injury and gene signatures discriminative of inflammatory disease

Mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). To understand how microbial-metabolic circuits contribute to intestinal injury, we disrupt mitochondrial function in the epithelium by deleting the mitochondrial chaperone, heat shock protein 60 (Hsp60^(Δ/ΔIEC)). This metabolic perturbation causes self-resolving tissue injury. Regeneration is disrupted in the absence of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Hsp60^(Δ/ΔIEC);AhR^(-/-)) involved in intestinal homeostasis …