LKB1 functions as a checkpoint for neuronal-glial balance during enteric nervous system development

We previously showed that the tumor suppressor kinase LKB1 is essential for postnatal ENS maintenance through amino acid homeostasis. Here, we investigated LKB1’s functions during embryonic ENS formation using a genetically engineered mouse model with conditional Lkb1 inactivation in neural crest progenitors during gut colonization.

Using advanced 3D imaging techniques on cleared tissue including lightsheet microscopy and adaptive optics confocal microscopy, we found that Lkb1 loss impairs early neuronal differentiation followed by progressive glial degeneration, leading to hypoganglionosis and compromised digestive tissue integrity. Notably, Lkb1 inactivation induced a transient upregulation of the glial stress marker S100 at mid-gestation, suggestive of a reactive glial state preceding glial loss.