Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Medicine Innovation Center for Fundamental Research on Major Immunology-related Diseases, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China; Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China; State Key Laboratory of Vascular Homeostasis and Remodeling, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China; Center for Obesity and Metabolic Disease Research, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China.
Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.
Cell Host Microbe. 2024 Jun 12;32(6):964-979.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2024.04.017. Epub 2024 May 15.
The gut microbiota is closely linked to atherosclerosis. However, the role of intestinal fungi, essential members of the complex microbial community, in atherosclerosis is poorly understood. Herein, we show that gut fungi dysbiosis is implicated in patients with dyslipidemia, characterized by higher levels of Candida albicans (C. albicans), which are positively correlated with plasma total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. Furthermore, C. albicans colonization aggravates atherosclerosis progression in a mouse model of the disease. Through gain- and loss-of-function studies, we show that an intestinal hypoxia-inducible factor 2α (HIF-2α)-ceramide pathway mediates the effect of C. albicans. Mechanistically, formyl-methionine, a metabolite of C. albicans, activates intestinal HIF-2α signaling, which drives increased ceramide synthesis to accelerate atherosclerosis. Administration of the HIF-2α selective antagonist PT2385 alleviates atherosclerosis in mice by reducing ceramide levels. Our findings identify a role for intestinal fungi in atherosclerosis progression and highlight the intestinal HIF-2α-ceramide pathway as a target for atherosclerosis treatment.
肠道微生物群与动脉粥样硬化密切相关。然而,肠道真菌作为复杂微生物群落的重要成员,其在动脉粥样硬化中的作用仍知之甚少。本研究表明,肠道真菌失调与血脂异常患者有关,其特征是白色念珠菌(Candida albicans,C. albicans)水平升高,C. albicans 与血浆总胆固醇和低密度脂蛋白胆固醇(LDL-C)水平呈正相关。此外,C. albicans 定植可加重疾病小鼠的动脉粥样硬化进展。通过功能获得和缺失研究,我们表明肠道缺氧诱导因子 2α(HIF-2α)-神经酰胺途径介导了 C. albicans 的作用。在机制上,白色念珠菌的代谢产物甲硫氨酸可激活肠道 HIF-2α 信号,促进神经酰胺合成,从而加速动脉粥样硬化。HIF-2α 选择性拮抗剂 PT2385 的给药可通过降低神经酰胺水平来减轻小鼠的动脉粥样硬化。本研究结果确定了肠道真菌在动脉粥样硬化进展中的作用,并强调了肠道 HIF-2α-神经酰胺途径作为动脉粥样硬化治疗的靶点。
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