Li Fei, Vigder Niv, Ziehr David R, Kamiya Mari, Nguyen Hung N, Steinhauser Matthew L, Kim Edy Y, Oldham William M
Department of Medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
bioRxiv. 2025 Jul 24:2025.07.23.666333. doi: 10.1101/2025.07.23.666333.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive interstitial lung disease marked by aberrant fibroblast-to-myofibroblast differentiation, a process that requires metabolic reprogramming. We identify alanine as a critical metabolite that confers metabolic flexibility to support differentiation. TGF-β increases alanine by activating both its synthesis and import in normal and IPF lung fibroblasts. Alanine is synthesized primarily by GPT2, which is regulated by a glutamine-glutamate-α-ketoglutarate axis. Inhibiting GPT2 depletes alanine and suppresses TGF-β-induced expression of α-SMA and COL1A1, an effect reversed by alanine supplementation. We also identify SLC38A2 as a key transporter of both alanine and glutamine that is upregulated by TGF-β and alanine deprivation. Together, SLC38A2 and GPT2 activities converge to maintain intracellular alanine levels to support myofibroblast differentiation. Mechanistically, alanine deficiency suppresses glycolysis and depletes tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates, while supplementation provides carbon and nitrogen for intracellular glutamate and proline biosynthesis, particularly in the absence of glutamine. Combined inhibition of GPT2 and SLC38A2 suppresses fibrogenic responses in fibroblasts and in human precision-cut lung slices, highlighting a potential therapeutic strategy for fibrotic lung disease.
特发性肺纤维化(IPF)是一种进行性间质性肺病,其特征为成纤维细胞向肌成纤维细胞的异常分化,这一过程需要代谢重编程。我们确定丙氨酸是一种关键代谢物,它赋予代谢灵活性以支持分化。转化生长因子-β(TGF-β)通过激活正常和IPF肺成纤维细胞中丙氨酸的合成和摄取来增加丙氨酸水平。丙氨酸主要由GPT2合成,而GPT2受谷氨酰胺-谷氨酸-α-酮戊二酸轴调控。抑制GPT2会耗尽丙氨酸并抑制TGF-β诱导的α-平滑肌肌动蛋白(α-SMA)和I型胶原蛋白(COL1A1)的表达,补充丙氨酸可逆转这一效应。我们还确定溶质载体家族38成员2(SLC38A2)是丙氨酸和谷氨酰胺的关键转运体,它会被TGF-β和丙氨酸剥夺上调。总之,SLC38A2和GPT2的活性共同维持细胞内丙氨酸水平以支持肌成纤维细胞分化。从机制上讲,丙氨酸缺乏会抑制糖酵解并耗尽三羧酸循环中间体,而补充丙氨酸则为细胞内谷氨酸和脯氨酸的生物合成提供碳和氮,尤其是在缺乏谷氨酰胺的情况下。联合抑制GPT2和SLC38A2可抑制成纤维细胞和人精密肺切片中的纤维化反应,突出了一种针对纤维化肺病的潜在治疗策略。