Deubiquitinase USP25 Alleviates Obesity-Induced Cardiac Remodeling and Dysfunction by Downregulating TAK1 and Reducing TAK1-Mediated Inflammation.

Deubiquitinating enzymes play a vital role in cardiovascular diseases. This study found that cardiomyocyte ubiquitin-specific protease 25 (USP25) expression was downregulated both in myocardial tissue of obesity cardiomyopathy and palmitic acid-stimulated cardiomyocytes. USP25 deficiency exacerbated high-fat diet-induced ventricular remodeling in mice, whereas overexpression of USP25 in cardiomyocytes reversed this pathological phenotype. Mechanistically, USP25 directly binds to TAK1 and P62, and the 178-cysteine of USP25 removes the K63 ubiquitin chain from P62, which promotes the degradation of TAK1 through the autophagy-lysosome pathway, thereby ameliorating obesity-induced ventricular remodeling by reducing inflammation through the TAK1-MAPK pathway. This finding identifies USP25 as a potential therapeutic target for obesity cardiomyopathy.