1
|
Chen H, You R, Guo J, Zhou W, Chew G, Devapragash N, Loh JZ, Gesualdo L, Li Y, Jiang Y, Tan ELS, Chen S, Pontrelli P, Pesce F, Behmoaras J, Zhang A, Petretto E. WWP2 Regulates Renal Fibrosis and the Metabolic Reprogramming of Profibrotic Myofibroblasts. J Am Soc Nephrol 2024:00001751-990000000-00269. [PMID: 38502123 DOI: 10.1681/asn.0000000000000328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Key Points
WWP2 expression is elevated in the tubulointerstitium of fibrotic kidneys and contributes to CKD pathogenesis and progression.WWP2 uncouples the profibrotic activation and cell proliferation in renal myofibroblasts.WWP2 controls mitochondrial respiration in renal myofibroblasts through the metabolic regulator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha.
Background
Renal fibrosis is a common pathologic end point in CKD that is challenging to reverse, and myofibroblasts are responsible for the accumulation of a fibrillar collagen–rich extracellular matrix. Recent studies have unveiled myofibroblasts' diversity in proliferative and fibrotic characteristics, which are linked to different metabolic states. We previously demonstrated the regulation of extracellular matrix genes and tissue fibrosis by WWP2, a multifunctional E3 ubiquitin–protein ligase. Here, we investigate WWP2 in renal fibrosis and in the metabolic reprograming of myofibroblasts in CKD.
Methods
We used kidney samples from patients with CKD and WWP2-null kidney disease mice models and leveraged single-cell RNA sequencing analysis to detail the cell-specific regulation of WWP2 in fibrotic kidneys. Experiments in primary cultured myofibroblasts by bulk-RNA sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing, metabolomics, and cellular metabolism assays were used to study the metabolic regulation of WWP2 and its downstream signaling.
Results
The tubulointerstitial expression of WWP2 was associated with fibrotic progression in patients with CKD and in murine kidney disease models. WWP2 deficiency promoted myofibroblast proliferation and halted profibrotic activation, reducing the severity of renal fibrosis in vivo. In renal myofibroblasts, WWP2 deficiency increased fatty acid oxidation and activated the pentose phosphate pathway, boosting mitochondrial respiration at the expense of glycolysis. WWP2 suppressed the transcription of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α), a metabolic mediator of fibrotic response, and pharmacologic inhibition of PGC-1α partially abrogated the protective effects of WWP2 deficiency on myofibroblasts.
Conclusions
WWP2 regulates the metabolic reprogramming of profibrotic myofibroblasts by a WWP2-PGC-1α axis, and WWP2 deficiency protects against renal fibrosis in CKD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Huimei Chen
- Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders (CVMD) and Centre for Computational Biology (CCB), Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
| | - Ran You
- Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jing Guo
- Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders (CVMD) and Centre for Computational Biology (CCB), Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
| | - Wei Zhou
- Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Gabriel Chew
- Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders (CVMD) and Centre for Computational Biology (CCB), Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
| | - Nithya Devapragash
- Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders (CVMD) and Centre for Computational Biology (CCB), Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
| | - Jui Zhi Loh
- Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders (CVMD) and Centre for Computational Biology (CCB), Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
| | - Loreto Gesualdo
- Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Unit, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Yanwei Li
- Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yuteng Jiang
- Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Elisabeth Li Sa Tan
- Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders (CVMD) and Centre for Computational Biology (CCB), Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
| | - Shuang Chen
- Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- School of Science, Institute for Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Paola Pontrelli
- Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Unit, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Francesco Pesce
- Division of Renal Medicine, Fatebenefratelli Isola Tiberina-Gemelli Isola, Rome, Italy
| | - Jacques Behmoaras
- Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders (CVMD) and Centre for Computational Biology (CCB), Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
- Centre for Inflammatory Disease, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Aihua Zhang
- Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Enrico Petretto
- Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders (CVMD) and Centre for Computational Biology (CCB), Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
- School of Science, Institute for Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Chen H, Chew G, Devapragash N, Loh JZ, Huang KY, Guo J, Liu S, Tan ELS, Chen S, Tee NGZ, Mia MM, Singh MK, Zhang A, Behmoaras J, Petretto E. The E3 ubiquitin ligase WWP2 regulates pro-fibrogenic monocyte infiltration and activity in heart fibrosis. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7375. [PMID: 36450710 PMCID: PMC9712659 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34971-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) can cause left ventricular dysfunction through interstitial fibrosis, which corresponds to the failure of cardiac tissue remodeling. Recent evidence implicates monocytes/macrophages in the etiopathology of cardiac fibrosis, but giving their heterogeneity and the antagonizing roles of macrophage subtypes in fibrosis, targeting these cells has been challenging. Here we focus on WWP2, an E3 ubiquitin ligase that acts as a positive genetic regulator of human and murine cardiac fibrosis, and show that myeloid specific deletion of WWP2 reduces cardiac fibrosis in hypertension-induced NICM. By using single cell RNA sequencing analysis of immune cells in the same model, we establish the functional heterogeneity of macrophages and define an early pro-fibrogenic phase of NICM that is driven by Ccl5-expressing Ly6chigh monocytes. Among cardiac macrophage subtypes, WWP2 dysfunction primarily affects Ly6chigh monocytes via modulating Ccl5, and consequentially macrophage infiltration and activation, which contributes to reduced myofibroblast trans-differentiation. WWP2 interacts with transcription factor IRF7, promoting its non-degradative mono-ubiquitination, nuclear translocation and transcriptional activity, leading to upregulation of Ccl5 at transcriptional level. We identify a pro-fibrogenic macrophage subtype in non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, and demonstrate that WWP2 is a key regulator of IRF7-mediated Ccl5/Ly6chigh monocyte axis in heart fibrosis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Huimei Chen
- grid.428397.30000 0004 0385 0924Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, 169857 Singapore, Singapore ,grid.254147.10000 0000 9776 7793Institute for Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009 China
| | - Gabriel Chew
- grid.428397.30000 0004 0385 0924Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, 169857 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Nithya Devapragash
- grid.428397.30000 0004 0385 0924Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, 169857 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jui Zhi Loh
- grid.428397.30000 0004 0385 0924Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, 169857 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Kevin Y. Huang
- grid.428397.30000 0004 0385 0924Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, 169857 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jing Guo
- grid.428397.30000 0004 0385 0924Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, 169857 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Shiyang Liu
- grid.428397.30000 0004 0385 0924Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, 169857 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Elisabeth Li Sa Tan
- grid.428397.30000 0004 0385 0924Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, 169857 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Shuang Chen
- grid.254147.10000 0000 9776 7793Institute for Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009 China ,grid.452511.6Department of Nephrology, Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210008 China
| | - Nicole Gui Zhen Tee
- grid.419385.20000 0004 0620 9905National Heart Centre Singapore, Singapore, 169609 Singapore
| | - Masum M. Mia
- grid.428397.30000 0004 0385 0924Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, 169857 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Manvendra K. Singh
- grid.428397.30000 0004 0385 0924Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, 169857 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Aihua Zhang
- grid.452511.6Department of Nephrology, Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210008 China
| | - Jacques Behmoaras
- grid.428397.30000 0004 0385 0924Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, 169857 Singapore, Singapore ,grid.413629.b0000 0001 0705 4923Centre for Inflammatory Disease, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London, W12 0NN UK
| | - Enrico Petretto
- grid.428397.30000 0004 0385 0924Programme in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, 169857 Singapore, Singapore ,grid.254147.10000 0000 9776 7793Institute for Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009 China
| |
Collapse
|