Ding Chenbo, Yu Zhibin, Sefik Esen, Zhou Jing, Kaffe Eleanna, Wang Gaoyang, Li Bin, Flavell Richard A, Hu Weiguo, Ye Youqiong, Li Hua-Bing
Medical Center on Aging, Center for Immune-Related Diseases at Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine-Yale Institute for Immune Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Nat Aging. 2023 Jul;3(7):813-828. doi: 10.1038/s43587-023-00428-8. Epub 2023 Jun 5.
Regulatory T (T) cells modulate several aging-related liver diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms regulating T function in this context are unknown. Here we identified a long noncoding RNA, Altre (aging liver T-expressed non-protein-coding RNA), which was specifically expressed in the nucleus of T cells and increased with aging. T-specific deletion of Altre did not affect T homeostasis and function in young mice but caused T metabolic dysfunction, inflammatory liver microenvironment, liver fibrosis and liver cancer in aged mice. Depletion of Altre reduced T mitochondrial integrity and respiratory capacity, and induced reactive oxygen species accumulation, thus increasing intrahepatic T apoptosis in aged mice. Moreover, lipidomic analysis identified a specific lipid species driving T aging and apoptosis in the aging liver microenvironment. Mechanistically, Altre interacts with Yin Yang 1 to orchestrate its occupation on chromatin, thereby regulating the expression of a group of mitochondrial genes, and maintaining optimal mitochondrial function and T fitness in the liver of aged mice. In conclusion, the T-specific nuclear long noncoding RNA Altre maintains the immune-metabolic homeostasis of the aged liver through Yin Yang 1-regulated optimal mitochondrial function and the T-sustained liver immune microenvironment. Thus, Altre is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of liver diseases affecting older adults.
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