Biology subjects

Chew, G.

Publications and source records attributed to Chew, G..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

WWP2 MEDIATES THE METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING OF RENAL MYOFIBROBLASTS TO PROMOTE KIDNEY FIBROSIS

Renal fibrosis is a common pathological endpoint in chronic kidney disease (CKD) that is challenging to reverse. Although myofibroblasts are mainly responsible for the accumulation of a fibrillar collagen-rich extracellular matrix (ECM) in fibrotic kidney, recent studies have unveiled their diversity in terms of proliferative and fibrotic characteristics. This diversity could be linked with the existence of different metabolic states, and myofibroblast metabolic reprogramming may contribute to the pathogenesis and progression of renal fibrosis. Here, we reveal an unexpected role of the E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase WWP2 in the metabolic reprogramming of myofibroblasts during renal fibrosis. The tubulointerstitial expression of WWP2 contributes to the progression of fibrosis in CKD patients, and in pre-clinical murine models of CKD. WWP2 deficiency increases fatty acid oxidation and activates the pentose phosphate pathway, boosting mitochondrial respiration at the expense of glycolysis. This concurrently promotes myofibroblast proliferation and halts pro-fibrotic activation, reducing the severity of kidney fibrosis. Mechanistically, WWP2 suppresses the transcription of PGC-1, a metabolic mediator shaping myofibroblast fibrotic response. Pharmacological interventions targeting PGC-1 reverse the effects of WWP2 on fibrotic myofibroblasts. These findings demonstrate the influence of WWP2 on essential metabolic pathways involved in fibrogenesis, uncovering the WWP2-PGC-1 axis that orchestrates the metabolic reprogramming of myofibroblasts during renal fibrosis. Our study presents a potential novel target for therapeutic intervention in the treatment of chronic kidney disease. Graphical abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=177 HEIGHT=200 SRC="FIGDIR/small/554242v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (52K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1847ffeorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1ef029aorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@93e0f1org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@950d49_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG HighlightsO_LIWWP2 expression is elevated in the tubulointerstitium of fibrotic kidneys and contributes to CKD pathogenesis and progression. C_LIO_LIWWP2 uncouples the pro-fibrotic activation and cell proliferation in renal myofibroblasts. C_LIO_LIWWP2 controls mitochondrial respiration in renal myofibroblasts through the metabolic regulator PGC-1 C_LIO_LIMyofibroblast metabolic reprogramming mediates the effect of WWP2 on fibrotic myofibroblasts. C_LI

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Mouse and human microglial phenotypes in Alzheimer’s disease are controlled by amyloid plaque phagocytosis through Hif1α

The important role of microglia, the brains resident immune cells, in Alzheimers disease (AD) is now well recognized, however their molecular and functional diversity and underlying mechanisms still remain controversial. To transcriptionally and functionally characterize the diversity of microglia in AD and aging, we isolated the amyloid plaque-containing (XO4+) and non-containing (XO4-) microglia from an AD mouse model. Transcriptomics analysis unveiled independent transcriptional trajectories in ageing and AD. XO4+ microglial transcriptomes linked plaque phagocytosis to altered [Formula] expression of bona fide late onset AD genetic risk factors. We further revealed that the XO4+ transcriptional program is present in a subset of human microglia from AD patients and is a direct and reversible consequence of A{beta} plaque phagocytosis. Conversely, XO4- microglia in AD displayed an accelerated ageing signature and contained more intracellular post synaptic material than plaque-containing microglia, despite reduced active synaptosome phagocytosis. Mechanistically, we predicted HIF1 as a core regulator of the XO4-/XO4+ axis, and further validated the mechanism in vitro using human stem cell-derived microglia like cells and primary human microglia. Together these findings unveiled the molecular mechanism underpinning the functional diversity of microglia in AD, providing opportunities to develop treatments targeted at subset specific manipulation of the microglial niche.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

A single cell brain atlas in human Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimers disease (AD) is a heterogeneous disease that is largely dependent on the complex cellular microenvironment in the brain. This complexity impedes our understanding of how individual cell types contribute to disease progression and outcome. To characterize the molecular and functional cell diversity in the human AD brain we utilized single nuclei RNA- seq in AD and control patient brains in order to map the landscape of cellular heterogeneity in AD. We detail gene expression changes at the level of cells and cell subclusters, highlighting specific cellular contributions to global gene expression patterns between control and Alzheimers patient brains. We observed distinct cellular regulation of APOE which was repressed in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) and astrocyte AD subclusters, and highly enriched in a microglial AD subcluster. In addition, oligodendrocyte and microglia AD subclusters show discordant expression of APOE. Integration of transcription factor regulatory modules with downstream GWAS gene targets revealed subcluster-specific control of AD cell fate transitions. For example, this analysis uncovered that astrocyte diversity in AD was under the control of transcription factor EB (TFEB), a master regulator of lysosomal function and which initiated a regulatory cascade containing multiple AD GWAS genes. These results establish functional links between specific cellular sub-populations in AD, and provide new insights into the coordinated control of AD GWAS genes and their cell-type specific contribution to disease susceptibility. Finally, we created an interactive reference web resource which will facilitate brain and AD researchers to explore the molecular architecture of subtype and AD-specific cell identity, molecular and functional diversity at the single cell level.\n\nHighlightsO_LIWe generated the first human single cell transcriptome in AD patient brains\nC_LIO_LIOur study unveiled 9 clusters of cell-type specific and common gene expression patterns between control and AD brains, including clusters of genes that present properties of different cell types (i.e. astrocytes and oligodendrocytes)\nC_LIO_LIOur analyses also uncovered functionally specialized sub-cellular clusters: 5 microglial clusters, 8 astrocyte clusters, 6 neuronal clusters, 6 oligodendrocyte clusters, 4 OPC and 2 endothelial clusters, each enriched for specific ontological gene categories\nC_LIO_LIOur analyses found manifold AD GWAS genes specifically associated with one cell-type, and sets of AD GWAS genes co-ordinately and differentially regulated between different brain cell-types in AD sub-cellular clusters\nC_LIO_LIWe mapped the regulatory landscape driving transcriptional changes in AD brain, and identified transcription factor networks which we predict to control cell fate transitions between control and AD sub-cellular clusters\nC_LIO_LIFinally, we provide an interactive web-resource that allows the user to further visualise and interrogate our dataset.\nC_LI\n\nData resource web interface:http://adsn.ddnetbio.com

neuroscience↗