Department of Gastroenterology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu, China.
The First School of Clinical Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Int J Biol Sci. 2021 Oct 11;17(15):4165-4175. doi: 10.7150/ijbs.63889. eCollection 2021.
Inflammation and apoptosis play a crucial role in the progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2) is one of classic negative regulators of cytokine signaling, which has recently been described as anti-inflammatory mediators. However, the role of SOCS2 in macrophages during NASH progression and the relationship among SOCS2, inflammation, apoptosis and NASH is largely unknown. Herein, we aimed to study the function of SOCS2 in NASH progression. We detected SOCS2 expression in macrophages in human subjects without steatosis, with simple steatosis and with NASH to confirm the relationship between SOCS2 and NASH. Free fatty acids was used to establish stress environment in RAW 264.7 cell lines stably overexpressing or knockdown SOCS2. and vivo assays also performed to study the molecular function of SOCS2 in NASH progression. Our human samples illustrated that SOCS2 was decreased in macrophages during NASH progression and was negatively correlated to NASH level. Meanwhile, assays showed SOCS2 overexpression in macrophages suppressed inflammation and apoptosis via inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway, while SOCS2 knock-down in macrophages caused an increased activation of NF-κB, which could be blocked by ammonium 1-pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (PDTC). In addition, SOCS2 in macrophages also suppressed inflammation via limiting the activation of inflammasomes. Consistent with these, our BMT model also confirmed the SOCS2 function in macrophages during NASH. Our data strongly indicate that SOCS2 plays a role in inhibiting inflammation and apoptosis via NF-κB and inflammasome signaling pathway in macrophages during NASH. Further studies are required to explore the potential preventive and therapeutic strategies of SOCS2 for this common liver disease.
炎症和细胞凋亡在非酒精性脂肪性肝炎(NASH)的进展中起着关键作用。细胞因子信号转导抑制因子 2(SOCS2)是细胞因子信号转导的经典负调控因子之一,最近被描述为抗炎介质。然而,SOCS2 在 NASH 进展过程中巨噬细胞中的作用以及 SOCS2、炎症、细胞凋亡和 NASH 之间的关系在很大程度上尚不清楚。在此,我们旨在研究 SOCS2 在 NASH 进展中的作用。我们检测了无脂肪变性、单纯性脂肪变性和 NASH 患者巨噬细胞中 SOCS2 的表达,以证实 SOCS2 与 NASH 的关系。使用游离脂肪酸在稳定过表达或敲低 SOCS2 的 RAW 264.7 细胞系中建立应激环境。并进行体内实验以研究 SOCS2 在 NASH 进展中的分子功能。我们的人体样本表明,SOCS2 在 NASH 进展过程中巨噬细胞中减少,与 NASH 水平呈负相关。同时,研究表明 SOCS2 过表达在巨噬细胞中通过抑制 NF-κB 信号通路抑制炎症和细胞凋亡,而巨噬细胞中 SOCS2 的敲低导致 NF-κB 的激活增加,这可以被 1- 吡咯烷二硫代氨基甲酸铵(PDTC)阻断。此外,巨噬细胞中的 SOCS2 还通过限制炎症小体的激活来抑制炎症。与此一致,我们的 BMT 模型也证实了 SOCS2 在 NASH 期间在巨噬细胞中的作用。我们的数据强烈表明,SOCS2 通过 NF-κB 和炎症小体信号通路在巨噬细胞中抑制 NASH 过程中的炎症和细胞凋亡。需要进一步研究以探索 SOCS2 对这种常见肝病的潜在预防和治疗策略。