Inhibition of complement C3 signaling ameliorates locomotor and visual dysfunction in autoimmune inflammatory diseases.

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by transverse myelitis and optic neuritis. The pathogenic serum IgG antibody against the aquaporin-4 (AQP4) on astrocytes triggers the activation of the complement cascade, causing astrocyte injury, followed by oligodendrocyte injury, demyelination, and neuronal loss. Complement C3 is positioned as a central player that relays upstream initiation signals to activate downstream effectors, potentially stimulating and amplifying host immune and inflammatory responses. However, whether targeting the inhibition of C3 signaling could ameliorate tissue injury, locomotor defects, and visual impairments in NMO remains to be investigated. In this study, using the targeted C3 inhibitor CR2-Crry led to a significant decrease in complement deposition and demyelination in both slice cultures and focal intracerebral injection models. Moreover, the treatment downregulated the expression of inflammatory cytokines and improved motor dysfunction in a systemic NMO mouse model. Similarly, employing serotype 2/9 adeno-associated virus (AAV2/9) to induce permanent expression of CR2-Crry resulted in a reduction in visual dysfunction by attenuating NMO-like lesions. Our findings reveal the therapeutic value of inhibiting the complement C3 signaling pathway in NMO.

Remyelination in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder is promoted by edaravone through mTORC1 signaling activation.

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a severe inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that is manifested as secondary myelin loss. Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) are the principal source of myelinating oligodendrocytes (OLs) and are abundant in demyelinated regions of NMOSD patients, thus possibly representing a cellular target for pharmacological intervention. To explore the therapeutic compounds that enhance myelination due to endogenous OPCs, we screened the candidate drugs in mouse neural progenitor cell (NPC)-derived OPCs. We identified drug edaravone, which is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as a promoter of OPC differentiation into mature OLs. Edaravone enhanced remyelination in organotypic slice cultures and in mice, even when edaravone was administered following NMO-IgG-induced demyelination, and ameliorated motor impairment in a systemic mouse model of NMOSD. The results of mechanistic studies in NMO-IgG-treated mice and the biopsy samples of the brain tissues of NMOSD patients indicated that the mTORC1 signaling pathway was significantly inhibited, and edaravone promoted OPC maturation and remyelination by activating mTORC1 signaling. Furthermore, pharmacological activation of mTORC1 signaling significantly enhanced myelin regeneration in NMOSD. Thus, edaravone is a potential therapeutic agent that promotes lesion repair in NMOSD patients by enhancing OPC maturation.

Sorafenib suppresses the activation of type I interferon pathway induced by RLR-MAVS and cGAS-STING signaling.

Type I interferon pathway is a crucial component of innate immune signaling upon pathogen infection or endogenous instability. An imbalance of type I interferon can lead to many diseases, such as autoimmune diseases and inflammatory diseases. Meanwhile, the side effects of clinical drugs on type I interferon signaling may result in impaired outcomes in clinical treatment, especially in cancer immunotherapy which is associated with type I interferon signaling. Here, we found that sorafenib, an FDA-approved drug for HCC chemotherapy, suppresses both DNA- and RNA-sensing mediated type I interferon pathway. Mechanistically, sorafenib treatment induces the autophagic degradation of MAVS, cGAS, TBK1, and IRF3, and attenuates the signaling transduction. In addition, sorafenib also inhibits the recruiting of STING or MAVS with TBK1 and IRF3. This work reveals the negative role of sorafenib in the regulation of type I interferon pathway. Sorafenib treatment is not only a potential drug for autoimmune disease and inflammation diseases, but also needs to be noticed in HCC chemotherapy.

METTL3 regulates skeletal muscle specific miRNAs at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels.

METTL3 increasing the mature miRNA levels via N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) modification of primary miRNA (pri-miRNA) transcripts has emerged as an important post-transcriptional regulation of miRNA biogenesis. Our previous studies and others have showed that muscle specific miRNAs are essential for skeletal muscle differentiation. Whether these miRNAs are also regulated by METTL3 is still unclear. Here, we found that m6A motifs were present around most of these miRNAs, which were indeed m6A modified as confirmed by m6A-modified RNA immunoprecipitation (m6A RIP). However, we surprisingly found that these muscle specific miRNAs were repressed instead of increased by METTL3 in C2C12 in vitro differentiation and mouse skeletal muscle regeneration after injury in vivo model. To elucidate the underlined mechanism, we performed reporter assays in 293T cells and validated METTL3 increasing these miRNAs at post-transcriptional level as expected. Furthermore, in myogenic C2C12 cells, we found that METTL3 not only repressed the expression of myogenic transcription factors (TFs) which can enhance the muscle specific miRNAs, but also increased the expression of epigenetic regulators which can repress these miRNAs. Thus, METTL3 could repress the muscle specific miRNAs at transcriptional level indirectly. Taken together, our results demonstrated that skeletal muscle specific miRNAs were repressed by METTL3 and such repression is likely synthesized transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulations.

Hepatocyte nuclear factor 1A suppresses innate immune response by inducing degradation of TBK1 to inhibit steatohepatitis.

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a progressive form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is characterised by chronic liver inflammation, which can further progress into complications such as liver cirrhosis and NASH-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and therefore has become a growing health problem worldwide. The type I interferon (IFN) signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in chronic inflammation; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying NAFLD/NASH from the perspective of innate immune response has not yet been fully explored. In this study, we elucidated the mechanisms of how innate immune response modulates NAFLD/NASH pathogenesis, and demonstrated that hepatocyte nuclear factor-1alpha (HNF1A) was suppressed and the type I IFN production pathway was activated in liver tissues of patients with NAFLD/NASH. Further experiments suggested that HNF1A negatively regulates the TBK1-IRF3 signaling pathway by promoting autophagic degradation of phosphorylated-TBK1, which constrains IFN production, thereby inhibiting the activation of type I IFN signaling. Mechanistically, HNF1A interacts with the phagophore membrane protein LC3 through its LIR-docking sites, and mutations of LIRs (LIR2, LIR3, LIR4, and LIRs) block the HNF1A-LC3 interaction. In addition, HNF1A was identified not only as a novel autophagic cargo receptor but also to specifically induce K33-linked ubiquitin chains on TBK1 at Lys670, thereby resulting in autophagic degradation of TBK1. Collectively, our study illustrates the crucial function of the HNF1A-TBK1 signaling axis in NAFLD/NASH pathogenesis via cross-talk between autophagy and innate immunity.

Key genes associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma with metabolic risk factors.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has become the world's primary cause of cancer death. Obesity, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia are all illnesses that are part of the metabolic syndrome. In recent years, this risk factor has become increasingly recognized as a contributing factor to HCC. Around the world, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is on the rise, especially in western countries. In the past, the exact pathogenesis of NAFLD that progressed to metabolic risk factors (MFRs)-associated HCC has not been fully understood. Methods: Two groups of the GEO dataset (including normal/NAFLD and HCC with MFRs) were used to analyze differential expression. Differentially expressed genes of HCC were verified by overlapping in TCGA. In addition, functional enrichment analysis, modular analysis, Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis, LASSO analysis, and Genes with key survival characteristics were analyzed. Results: We identified six hub genes (FABP5, SCD, CCL20, AGPAT9(GPAT3), PLIN1, and IL1RN) that may be closely related to NAFLD and HCC with MFRs. We constructed survival and prognosis gene markers based on FABP5, CCL20, AGPAT9(GPAT3), PLIN1, and IL1RN.This gene signature has shown good diagnostic accuracy in both NAFLD and HCC and in predicting HCC overall survival rates. Conclusion: As a result of the findings of this study, there is some guiding significance for the diagnosis and treatment of liver disease associated with NAFLD progression.

Pleiotrophin ameliorates age-induced adult hippocampal neurogenesis decline and cognitive dysfunction.

Cognitive impairment has been associated with an age-related decline in adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN). The molecular basis of declining neurogenesis in the aging hippocampus remains to be elucidated. Here, we show that pleiotrophin (PTN) expression is decreased with aging in neural stem and progenitor cells (NSPCs). Mice lacking PTN exhibit impaired AHN accompanied by poor learning and memory. Mechanistically, we find that PTN engages with protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type Z1 (PTPRZ1) to promote NSPC proliferation and differentiation by activating AKT signaling. PTN overexpression or pharmacological activation of AKT signaling in aging mice restores AHN and alleviates relevant memory deficits. Importantly, we also find that PTN overexpression improves impaired neurogenesis in senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice. We further confirm that PTN is required for enriched environment-induced increases in AHN. These results corroborate the significance of AHN in aging and reveal a possible therapeutic intervention by targeting PTN.

CHI3L1 signaling impairs hippocampal neurogenesis and cognitive function in autoimmune-mediated neuroinflammation.

Chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1) is primarily secreted by activated astrocytes in the brain and is known as a reliable biomarker for inflammatory central nervous system (CNS) conditions such as neurodegeneration and autoimmune disorders like neuromyelitis optica (NMO). NMO is an astrocyte disease caused by autoantibodies targeting the astroglial protein aquaporin 4 (AQP4) and leads to vision loss, motor deficits, and cognitive decline. In this study examining CHI3L1's biological function in neuroinflammation, we found that CHI3L1 expression correlates with cognitive impairment in our NMO patient cohort. Activated astrocytes secrete CHI3L1 in response to AQP4 autoantibodies, and this inhibits the proliferation and neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells. Mouse models showed decreased hippocampal neurogenesis and impaired learning behaviors, which could be rescued by depleting CHI3L1 in astrocytes. The molecular mechanism involves CHI3L1 engaging the CRTH2 receptor and dampening ß-catenin signaling for neurogenesis. Blocking this CHI3L1/CRTH2/ß-catenin cascade restores neurogenesis and improves cognitive deficits, suggesting the potential for therapeutic development in neuroinflammatory disorders.

PROZ Associated with Sorafenib Sensitivity May Serve as a Potential Target to Enhance the Efficacy of Combined Immunotherapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Targeted combined immunotherapy has significantly improved the prognosis of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma and has now become the primary treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. However, some patients still have poor efficacy or are resistant to treatment. The further exploration of molecular markers related to efficacy or finding molecular targets to increase efficacy is an urgent problem that needs to be resolved. In this research, we found that PROZ was a gene related to KDR expression that had significantly low expression in cancer tissue by analyzing the differential genes of cancer tissue and adjacent tissue and the intersection of KDR-related genes in hepatocellular carcinoma. The correlation analysis of clinical data showed that the low expression of PROZ was significantly correlated with the poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma, and further studies found that PROZ was closely related to the expression of p-ERK and VEGFR2 in hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, intracellular detection also showed that the expression of p-ERK increased and VEGFR2 expression decreased after PROZ interference, and PROZ downregulation with increased p-ERK and decreased VEGFR2 was also detected in sorafenib-resistant strains. At the same time, our analysis found that PROZ was negatively correlated with genes related to immunotherapy efficacy such as CD8A, CD274 and GZMA, and was also negatively correlated with T-cell infiltration in tumor tissue. Conclusion: PROZ is a gene related to the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma and it is closely related to the efficacy of sorafenib and immunotherapy. It may serve as a potential molecular target to improve the efficacy of targeted combined immunotherapy.

Lipotoxicity-induced STING1 activation stimulates MTORC1 and restricts hepatic lipophagy.

Lipid accumulation often leads to lipotoxic injuries to hepatocytes, which can cause nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. The association of inflammation with lipid accumulation in liver tissue has been studied for decades; however, key mechanisms have been identified only recently. In particular, it is still unknown how hepatic inflammation regulates lipid metabolism in hepatocytes. Herein, we found that PA treatment or direct stimulation of STING1 promoted, whereas STING1 deficiency impaired, MTORC1 activation, suggesting that STING1 is involved in PA-induced MTORC1 activation. Mechanistic studies revealed that STING1 interacted with several components of the MTORC1 complex and played an important role in the complex formation of MTORC1 under PA treatment. The involvement of STING1 in MTORC1 activation was dependent on SQSTM1, a key regulator of the MTORC1 pathway. In SQSTM1-deficient cells, the interaction of STING1 with the components of MTORC1 was weak. Furthermore, the impaired activity of MTORC1 via rapamycin treatment or STING1 deficiency decreased the numbers of LDs in cells. PA treatment inhibited lipophagy, which was not observed in STING1-deficient cells or rapamycin-treated cells. Restoration of MTORC1 activity via treatment with amino acids blocked lipophagy and LDs degradation. Finally, increased MTORC1 activation concomitant with STING1 activation was observed in liver tissues of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients, which provided clinical evidence for the involvement of STING1 in MTORC1 activation. In summary, we identified a novel regulatory loop of STING1-MTORC1 and explain how hepatic inflammation regulates lipid accumulation. Our findings may facilitate the development of new strategies for clinical treatment of hepatic steatosis.Abbreviations: AA: amino acid; ACTB: actin beta; cGAMP: cyclic GMP-AMP; CGAS: cyclic GMP-AMP synthase; DEPTOR: DEP domain containing MTOR interacting protein; EIF4EBP1: eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E binding protein 1; FFAs: free fatty acids; GFP: green fluorescent protein; HFD: high-fat diet; HT-DNA: herring testis DNA; IL1B: interleukin 1 beta; LAMP1: lysosomal associated membrane protein 1; LDs: lipid droplets; MAP1LC3: microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3; MAP1LC3B: microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta; MEFs: mouse embryonic fibroblasts; MLST8: MTOR associated protein, LST8 homolog; MT-ND1: mitochondrially encoded NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase core subunit 1; mtDNA: mitochondrial DNA; MTOR: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase; MTORC1: MTOR complex 1; NAFL: nonalcoholic fatty liver; NAFLD: nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; NASH: nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; NPCs: non-parenchymal cells; PA: palmitic acid; PLIN2: perilipin 2; RD: regular diet; RELA: RELA proto-oncogene, NF-kB subunit; RPS6: ribosomal protein S6; RPS6KB1: ribosomal protein S6 kinase B1; RPTOR: regulatory associated protein of MTOR complex 1; RRAGA: Ras related GTP binding A; RRAGC: Ras related GTP binding C; SQSTM1: sequestosome 1; STING1: stimulator of interferon response cGAMP interactor 1; TBK1: TANK binding kinase 1; TGs: triglycerides; TREX1: three prime repair exonuclease 1.

Human DUBs' gene expression and regulation in antiviral signaling in response to poly (I:C) treatment.

Type I interferons (IFNs) play a central role in host defense against viral infection. Multiple posttranslational modifications including ubiquitination and deubiquitination regulate the function of diverse molecules in type I IFN signaling. Many ubiquitin ligase enzymes, such as those of the TRAF and TRIM families, have been shown to participate in the production of type I IFNs and inflammatory cytokines. However, the function of deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs), a protein family that counteracts the action of protein ubiquitination, on the regulation of antiviral immune responses is not well understood. In this study, we used the broad-spectrum DUB inhibitor G5 to reveal their function in antiviral signaling, and then systematically analyzed mRNA expression of the DUB genes upon poly (I:C) treatment in THP-1 cells. Based on this analysis, we cloned some DUB genes whose expression changed and determined their function in antiviral signaling. Taken together, we present a comprehensive DUB gene expression analysis in THP-1 cells, and suggest the involvement of this family of proteins in the regulation of host antiviral activities.