Wang Hao, Xia Guo-Qing, Ke Ting, Chen Xi-Xi, Zhen Wen-Jun, Tian Yuan-Yuan, Chen Shi, Zhang Cheng, Li Jun, Zhang Lei, Wu De-Jun, Wang Ye-Tao, He Liang, Tian Wen-Fang, Wu Bao-Ming
Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
School of Pharmacy, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2025 Jun 3. doi: 10.1038/s41401-025-01544-4.
Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) refers to a spectrum of liver diseases caused by chronic or acute excessive alcohol consumption. Excess alcohol consumption and dysregulated immunometabolism are the major contributors to the disease progression. The pathogenesis of ALD remains unclear with macrophage activity playing a key role in disease development. Kv1.3 potassium channel is essential for the regulation of macrophage function. In this study, we investigated whether Kv1.3 channels influenced the progression of ALD by modulating macrophage function. A murine model of ALD was established in male mice. We showed that Kv1.3 knockdown significantly attenuated alcohol-induced liver injury, lipid deposition, and inflammatory responses in ALD mice. Metabolomic analysis revealed that Kv1.3 knockdown significantly increased the levels of tryptamine, a tryptophan metabolite, in the liver of ALD mice. During the last 5 days of the EtOH feeding period, injection of exogenous tryptamine (1, 10, 20 mg·kg·d, i.p.) notably alleviated ethanol-induced liver steatosis and inflammation in ALD mice. In LPS-challenged RAW264.7 cells, tryptamine (62.5, 125, 250 μM) dose-dependently suppressed the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α. RNA-seq analysis of RAW264.7 cells revealed that tryptamine treatment significantly altered Toll-like receptor and NF-κB signaling pathways. We conclude that in the ALD mice, Kv1.3 negatively regulates tryptamine levels, which inhibits macrophage activation and reduces the inflammatory responses through the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. Our results offer new targets and intervention strategies for the prevention and treatment of ALD.
酒精性肝病(ALD)是指由慢性或急性过量饮酒引起的一系列肝脏疾病。过量饮酒和免疫代谢失调是疾病进展的主要因素。ALD的发病机制尚不清楚,巨噬细胞活性在疾病发展中起关键作用。Kv1.3钾通道对巨噬细胞功能的调节至关重要。在本研究中,我们调查了Kv1.3通道是否通过调节巨噬细胞功能影响ALD的进展。在雄性小鼠中建立了ALD小鼠模型。我们发现,敲低Kv1.3可显著减轻ALD小鼠酒精诱导的肝损伤、脂质沉积和炎症反应。代谢组学分析显示,敲低Kv1.3可显著提高ALD小鼠肝脏中色氨酸代谢产物色胺的水平。在乙醇喂养期的最后5天,注射外源性色胺(1、10、20mg·kg·d,腹腔注射)可显著减轻ALD小鼠乙醇诱导的肝脂肪变性和炎症。在LPS刺激的RAW264.7细胞中,色胺(62.5、125、250μM)剂量依赖性地抑制促炎细胞因子IL-6、IL-1β和TNF-α的分泌。RAW264.7细胞的RNA测序分析显示,色胺处理显著改变了Toll样受体和NF-κB信号通路。我们得出结论,在ALD小鼠中,Kv1.3负调节色胺水平,通过TLR4/NF-κB信号通路抑制巨噬细胞活化并减少炎症反应。我们的结果为ALD的预防和治疗提供了新的靶点和干预策略。