Atwood Daniel J, He Zhibin, Miyazaki Makoto, Hopp Katharina, Jani Alkesh, Furgeson Seth B, Faubel Sarah, Edelstein Charles L
Renal Division, Rocky Mountain Regional Veteran's Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Aurora, CO, United States.
Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States.
Front Immunol. 2025 May 27;16:1527817. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1527817. eCollection 2025.
Tertiary lymphoid tissues (TLTs) are ectopic lymphoid tissues that form in nonlymphoid organs. In this study, we demonstrate that the kidneys of aged mice with a renal tubule-specific knockout of autophagy-related 7 (Atg7) contain numerous and large TLTs. p-S6 protein, a marker of mTORC1, was elevated in the tubules adjacent to the TLTs as well as within the TLTs themselves. In Atg7 kidneys, tubular injury and increased proinflammatory cytokines were observed, both of which are known to promote TLT formation and growth. In mice with either polycystic kidney disease (Pkd1) or kidney ischemia, increased p-S6 was observed in tubules near TLTs and within the TLTs. Treatment with Torin2, an mTOR inhibitor, led to the virtual disappearance of TLTs in Pkd1 kidneys and a significant reduction in TLTs in ischemic kidneys. To assess whether p-S6 in the tubules was driving TLT formation, ischemia was induced in tubule-specific Atg7 Raptor (mTORC1) mice. The tubule-specific Raptor knockout had little effect on the TLTs. In summary, Torin2, which inhibited p-S6 in both tubules and TLTs, resulted in a large decrease in TLTs in ischemic and Pkd1 kidneys. Tubule-specific knockout of mTORC1 (Raptor) had no effect on TLTs. In conclusion, p-S6 activity within the TLTs, rather than in the tubules, drives the proliferation of immune cells and the formation and growth of TLTs. These findings provide new insights into the role of mTOR in TLT development. The study has important therapeutic implications, as TLTs are involved in numerous disease processes and mTOR inhibitors are widely used in clinical practice.
三级淋巴组织(TLTs)是在非淋巴器官中形成的异位淋巴组织。在本研究中,我们证明,肾小管特异性敲除自噬相关7(Atg7)的老年小鼠的肾脏含有大量且较大的三级淋巴组织。mTORC1的标志物p-S6蛋白在三级淋巴组织附近的肾小管以及三级淋巴组织内部均升高。在Atg7基因敲除的肾脏中,观察到肾小管损伤和促炎细胞因子增加,这两者均已知可促进三级淋巴组织的形成和生长。在患有多囊肾病(Pkd1)或肾缺血的小鼠中,在三级淋巴组织附近的肾小管以及三级淋巴组织内部观察到p-S6增加。用mTOR抑制剂Torin2治疗导致Pkd1基因敲除的肾脏中三级淋巴组织几乎消失,缺血性肾脏中的三级淋巴组织显著减少。为了评估肾小管中的p-S6是否驱动三级淋巴组织的形成,在肾小管特异性Atg7 Raptor(mTORC1)小鼠中诱导缺血。肾小管特异性敲除Raptor对三级淋巴组织几乎没有影响。总之,抑制肾小管和三级淋巴组织中p-S6的Torin2导致缺血性和Pkd1基因敲除的肾脏中三级淋巴组织大幅减少。肾小管特异性敲除mTORC1(Raptor)对三级淋巴组织没有影响。总之,三级淋巴组织内而非肾小管内的p-S6活性驱动免疫细胞增殖以及三级淋巴组织的形成和生长。这些发现为mTOR在三级淋巴组织发育中的作用提供了新的见解。该研究具有重要的治疗意义,因为三级淋巴组织参与众多疾病过程,且mTOR抑制剂在临床实践中广泛使用。