Liver Transplantation Center, First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Cell Death Dis. 2018 Sep 5;9(9):910. doi: 10.1038/s41419-018-0894-1.
Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) is a stress-induced transcription factor that plays important roles in regulating immune and metabolic homeostasis. Activation of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) transcription factors are crucial for the regulation of immune cell function. Here, we investigated the mechanism by which the ATF3/mTOR/HIF-1 axis regulates immune responses in a liver ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) model. Deletion of ATF3 exacerbated liver damage, as evidenced by increased levels of serum ALT, intrahepatic macrophage/neutrophil trafficking, hepatocellular apoptosis, and the upregulation of pro-inflammatory mediators. ATF3 deficiency promoted mTOR and p70S6K phosphorylation, activated high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) and TLR4, inhibited prolyl-hydroxylase 1 (PHD1), and increased HIF-1α activity, leading to Foxp3 downregulation and RORγt and IL-17A upregulation in IRI livers. Blocking mTOR or p70S6K in ATF3 knockout (KO) mice or bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs) downregulated HMGB1, TLR4, and HIF-1α and upregulated PHD1, increasing Foxp3 and decreasing IL-17A levels in vitro. Silencing of HIF-1α in ATF3 KO mice ameliorated IRI-induced liver damage in parallel with the downregulation of IL-17A in ATF3-deficient mice. These findings demonstrated that ATF3 deficiency activated mTOR/p70S6K/HIF-1α signaling, which was crucial for the modulation of TLR4-driven inflammatory responses and T cell development. The present study provides potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of liver IRI followed by liver transplantation.
激活转录因子 3(ATF3)是一种应激诱导的转录因子,在调节免疫和代谢稳态方面发挥着重要作用。机械靶标雷帕霉素(mTOR)和缺氧诱导因子(HIF)转录因子的激活对于调节免疫细胞功能至关重要。在这里,我们研究了 ATF3/mTOR/HIF-1 轴在肝缺血/再灌注损伤(IRI)模型中调节免疫反应的机制。ATF3 的缺失加剧了肝损伤,表现为血清 ALT 水平升高、肝内巨噬细胞/中性粒细胞迁移、肝细胞凋亡以及促炎介质的上调。ATF3 缺乏促进了 mTOR 和 p70S6K 的磷酸化,激活了高迁移率族蛋白 1(HMGB1)和 TLR4,抑制了脯氨酰羟化酶 1(PHD1),并增加了 HIF-1α 的活性,导致 Foxp3 的下调以及 RORγt 和 IL-17A 在 IRI 肝脏中的上调。在 ATF3 敲除(KO)小鼠或骨髓来源的巨噬细胞(BMM)中阻断 mTOR 或 p70S6K 可下调 HMGB1、TLR4 和 HIF-1α,并上调 PHD1,增加 Foxp3 并降低体外的 IL-17A 水平。在 ATF3 KO 小鼠中沉默 HIF-1α 可改善 IRI 诱导的肝损伤,同时下调 ATF3 缺陷小鼠中 IL-17A 的水平。这些发现表明,ATF3 缺乏激活了 mTOR/p70S6K/HIF-1α 信号通路,这对于调节 TLR4 驱动的炎症反应和 T 细胞发育至关重要。本研究为肝 IRI 后继发肝移植的治疗提供了潜在的治疗靶点。