Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Bioactive Small Molecules, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, and Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Institute of Metabolism and Regenerative Medicine, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Nat Commun. 2024 Mar 5;15(1):1995. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46357-x.
Cardiac macrophage contributes to the development of cardiac fibrosis, but factors that regulate cardiac macrophages transition and activation during this process remains elusive. Here we show, by single-cell transcriptomics, lineage tracing and parabiosis, that cardiac macrophages from circulating monocytes preferentially commit to macrophage-to-myofibroblast transition (MMT) under angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced hypertension, with accompanying increased expression of the RNA N6-methyladenosine demethylases, ALKBH5. Meanwhile, macrophage-specific knockout of ALKBH5 inhibits Ang II-induced MMT, and subsequently ameliorates cardiac fibrosis and dysfunction. Mechanistically, RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing identifies interlukin-11 (IL-11) mRNA as a target for ALKBH5-mediated m6A demethylation, leading to increased IL-11 mRNA stability and protein levels. By contrast, overexpression of IL11 in circulating macrophages reverses the phenotype in ALKBH5-deficient mice and macrophage. Lastly, targeted delivery of ALKBH5 or IL-11 receptor α (IL11RA1) siRNA to monocytes/macrophages attenuates MMT and cardiac fibrosis under hypertensive stress. Our results thus suggest that the ALKBH5/IL-11/IL11RA1/MMT axis alters cardiac macrophage and contributes to hypertensive cardiac fibrosis and dysfunction in mice, and thereby identify potential targets for cardiac fibrosis therapy in patients.
心脏巨噬细胞有助于心肌纤维化的发展,但调节心脏巨噬细胞在这一过程中转变和激活的因素仍不清楚。在这里,我们通过单细胞转录组学、谱系追踪和联体动物实验表明,在血管紧张素 II(Ang II)诱导的高血压下,循环单核细胞来源的心脏巨噬细胞优先向巨噬细胞-肌成纤维细胞转化(MMT)分化,同时 RNA N6-甲基腺苷去甲基酶 ALKBH5 的表达增加。同时,巨噬细胞特异性敲除 ALKBH5 抑制 Ang II 诱导的 MMT,随后改善心脏纤维化和功能障碍。在机制上,RNA 免疫沉淀测序确定白细胞介素 11(IL-11)mRNA 是 ALKBH5 介导的 m6A 去甲基化的靶标,导致 IL-11 mRNA 稳定性和蛋白水平增加。相比之下,循环巨噬细胞中 IL11 的过表达可逆转 ALKBH5 缺陷型小鼠和巨噬细胞中的表型。最后,ALKBH5 或 IL-11 受体 α(IL11RA1)siRNA 靶向递送至单核细胞/巨噬细胞可减轻高血压应激下的 MMT 和心脏纤维化。因此,我们的研究结果表明,ALKBH5/IL-11/IL11RA1/MMT 轴改变了心脏巨噬细胞,并有助于小鼠高血压性心肌纤维化和功能障碍,从而为患者的心肌纤维化治疗确定了潜在靶点。
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