Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200080, China.
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Ocular Fundus Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China.
J Mol Cell Biol. 2023 Aug 3;15(3). doi: 10.1093/jmcb/mjad005.
Subretinal fibrosis is a major cause of the poor visual prognosis for patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Myofibroblasts originated from retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells through epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) contribute to the fibrosis formation. N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) modification has been implicated in the EMT process and multiple fibrotic diseases. The role of m6A modification in EMT-related subretinal fibrosis has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we found that during subretinal fibrosis in the mouse model of laser-induced choroidal neovascularization, METTL3 was upregulated in RPE cells. Through m6A epitranscriptomic microarray and further verification, high-mobility group AT-hook 2 (HMGA2) was identified as the key downstream target of METTL3, subsequently activating potent EMT-inducing transcription factor SNAIL. Finally, by subretinal injections of adeno-associated virus vectors, we confirmed that METTL3 deficiency in RPE cells could efficiently attenuate subretinal fibrosis in vivo. In conclusion, our present research identified an epigenetic mechanism of METTL3-m6A-HMGA2 in subretinal fibrosis and EMT of RPE cells, providing a novel therapeutic target for subretinal fibrosis secondary to nAMD.
视网膜下纤维化是新生血管性年龄相关性黄斑变性(nAMD)患者视力预后不良的主要原因。成纤维细胞来源于视网膜色素上皮(RPE)细胞,通过上皮-间充质转化(EMT)形成纤维化。N6-甲基腺苷(m6A)修饰参与 EMT 过程和多种纤维化疾病。m6A 修饰在 EMT 相关的视网膜下纤维化中的作用尚未阐明。在这项研究中,我们发现,在激光诱导脉络膜新生血管化的小鼠模型中,视网膜下纤维化时,RPE 细胞中的 METTL3 上调。通过 m6A 转录组学微阵列和进一步验证,发现高迁移率族 AT 盒 2(HMGA2)是 METTL3 的关键下游靶标,随后激活强效 EMT 诱导转录因子 SNAIL。最后,通过 RPE 细胞的腺相关病毒载体的视网膜下注射,我们证实 RPE 细胞中 METTL3 的缺失可以有效地减轻体内的视网膜下纤维化。总之,本研究确定了 METTL3-m6A-HMGA2 在视网膜下纤维化和 RPE 细胞 EMT 中的表观遗传机制,为 nAMD 引起的视网膜下纤维化提供了新的治疗靶点。
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