Medical Microbiology, Interdisciplinary Program, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Thyroid. 2021 Oct;31(10):1566-1576. doi: 10.1089/thy.2020.0948. Epub 2021 Aug 18.
Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) is an autoimmune eye disease with the characteristic symptoms of eyelid retraction and proptosis. Orbital fibroblast activation induced by platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) stimulation plays a crucial role in GO pathogenesis, leading to excessive proliferation and extracellular matrix production by orbital fibroblasts. Currently, GO treatment options remain limited and novel therapies including targeted drugs are needed. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are associated with the development and progression of several cancers and autoimmune diseases by epigenetically controlling gene transcription, and HDAC inhibitors (HDACis) may have therapeutic potential. Nevertheless, the role of HDACs in orbital fibroblasts from GO is unknown. Therefore, we studied the expression of HDACs as well as their contribution to extracellular matrix production in orbital fibroblasts. Orbital tissues were obtained from GO patients ( = 18) who underwent decompression surgery with approval from the Institutional Review Board of the Faculty of Medicine (Protocol number 401/61), Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok, Thailand). Furthermore, orbital tissue was obtained from control patients ( = 3) without inflammatory or thyroid disease who underwent surgery for cosmetic reasons. Orbital fibroblast cultures were established from the orbital tissues. HDAC mRNA and protein expression in orbital fibroblasts was analyzed by reverse transcription-quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot. PDGF-BB-activated orbital fibroblast and orbital tissues were treated with HDACis or HDAC4 small-interfering RNA. PDGF-BB-stimulated orbital fibroblasts had upregulated mRNA and protein expression. mRNA expression was significantly higher in GO compared with healthy control orbital fibroblasts. Histone H3 lysine 9 acetylation (H3K9ac) decreased upon PDGF-BB stimulation. Treatment with HDAC4i (tasquinimod) and HDAC4/5i (LMK-235) significantly decreased both proliferation and hyaluronan production in PDGF-BB-stimulated orbital fibroblasts. silencing reduced mRNA expression of hyaluronan synthase 2 (), collagen type I alpha 1 chain (, , and α-smooth muscle actin (), as well as hyaluronan production in PDGF-BB-stimulated orbital fibroblasts. Tasquinimod significantly reduced and mRNA expression in whole orbital tissue. Our data indicated, for the first time, that altered HDAC4 regulation along with H3K9 hypoacetylation might represent a mechanism that contributes to excessive proliferation and extracellular matrix production by orbital fibroblasts in GO. HDAC4 might represent a novel target for GO therapy.
格雷夫斯眼病(GO)是一种自身免疫性眼病,其特征症状为眼睑退缩和眼球突出。血小板衍生生长因子-BB(PDGF-BB)刺激诱导的眼眶成纤维细胞激活在 GO 发病机制中起关键作用,导致眼眶成纤维细胞过度增殖和细胞外基质产生。目前,GO 的治疗选择仍然有限,需要包括靶向药物在内的新型疗法。组蛋白去乙酰化酶(HDACs)通过表观遗传控制基因转录与多种癌症和自身免疫性疾病的发生和发展有关,HDAC 抑制剂(HDACis)可能具有治疗潜力。然而,HDACs 在 GO 眼眶成纤维细胞中的作用尚不清楚。因此,我们研究了 HDACs 的表达及其对眼眶成纤维细胞细胞外基质产生的贡献。眼眶组织取自接受减压手术的 GO 患者(n=18),该研究获得了朱拉隆功大学医学院机构审查委员会(协议号 401/61)的批准(曼谷,泰国)。此外,还从因美容原因接受手术的无炎症或甲状腺疾病的对照患者(n=3)中获得眼眶组织。从眼眶组织中建立眼眶成纤维细胞培养物。通过逆转录定量实时 PCR 和 Western blot 分析眼眶成纤维细胞中的 HDAC mRNA 和蛋白表达。用 HDACis 或 HDAC4 小干扰 RNA 处理 PDGF-BB 激活的眼眶成纤维细胞和眼眶组织。PDGF-BB 刺激的眼眶成纤维细胞上调 mRNA 和蛋白表达。与健康对照组眼眶成纤维细胞相比,GO 中的 mRNA 表达明显更高。组蛋白 H3 赖氨酸 9 乙酰化(H3K9ac)在 PDGF-BB 刺激后减少。PDGF-BB 刺激的眼眶成纤维细胞中,HDAC4i(tasquinimod)和 HDAC4/5i(LMK-235)的治疗显著降低了增殖和透明质酸的产生。沉默降低了 PDGF-BB 刺激的眼眶成纤维细胞中透明质酸合酶 2()、I 型胶原α1 链(、和α-平滑肌肌动蛋白()以及透明质酸的 mRNA 表达。tasquinimod 显著降低了整个眼眶组织中的和 mRNA 表达。我们的数据首次表明,HDAC4 调节的改变以及 H3K9 低乙酰化可能代表一种机制,导致 GO 眼眶成纤维细胞过度增殖和细胞外基质产生。HDAC4 可能成为 GO 治疗的新靶点。