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Liu Q, Chen X, Liu C, Pan L, Kang X, Li Y, Du C, Dong S, Xiang AP, Xu Y, Zhang Q. Mesenchymal stem cells alleviate experimental immune-mediated liver injury via chitinase 3-like protein 1-mediated T cell suppression. Cell Death Dis 2021; 12:240. [PMID: 33664231 PMCID: PMC7933182 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-021-03524-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Revised: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Liver diseases with different pathogenesis share common pathways of immune-mediated injury. Chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1) was induced in both acute and chronic liver injuries, and recent studies reported that it possesses an immunosuppressive ability. CHI3L1 was also expressed in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), thus we investigates the role of CHI3L1 in MSC-based therapy for immune-mediated liver injury here. We found that CHI3L1 was highly expressed in human umbilical cord MSCs (hUC-MSCs). Downregulating CHI3L1 mitigated the ability of hUC-MSCs to inhibit T cell activation, proliferation and inflammatory cytokine secretion in vitro. Using Concanavalin A (Con A)-induced liver injury mouse model, we found that silencing CHI3L1 significantly abrogated the hUC-MSCs-mediated alleviation of liver injury, accompanying by weakened suppressive effects on infiltration and activation of hepatic T cells, and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In addition, recombinant CHI3L1 (rCHI3L1) administration inhibited the proliferation and function of activated T cells, and alleviated the Con A-induced liver injury in mice. Mechanistically, gene set enrichment analysis showed that JAK/STAT signalling pathway was one of the most significantly enriched gene pathways in T cells co-cultured with hUC-MSCs with CHI3L1 knockdown, and further study revealed that CHI3L1 secreted by hUC-MSCs inhibited the STAT1/3 signalling in T cells by upregulating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ (PPARδ). Collectively, our data showed that CHI3L1 was a novel MSC-secreted immunosuppressive factor and provided new insights into therapeutic treatment of immune-mediated liver injury.
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Grants
- This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFA0106100, 2018YFA0107203, 2017YFA010550), National Natural Science Foundation of China (81971526, 81670601, 81760112, 31601184, 81870449, 81970537, 81970109), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2020A1515010272, 2020A1515011385), Key project fund of Guangdong Natural Science Foundation (2017A030311034), Special fund for frontier and key technology innovation of Guangdong (2015B020226004) and National Keypoint Research and Invention program of the thirteenth (2018ZX10723203), the Key Scientific and Technological Projects of Guangdong Province (2019B020236004, 2019B020234001, 2019B020235002, 2017B020230004), Key Scientific and Technological Program of Guangzhou City (201803040011, 201802020023), Pearl River S&T Nova Program of Guangzhou (201906010095), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (20ykpy149).
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiuli Liu
- Biotherapy Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 510630, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory for Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Center for Stem Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, 510080, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoyong Chen
- Biotherapy Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 510630, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory for Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Center for Stem Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, 510080, Guangzhou, China
- Department of Pathophysiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 510080, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chang Liu
- Biotherapy Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 510630, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lijie Pan
- Cell-gene Therapy Translational Medicine Research Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 510630, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xinmei Kang
- Biotherapy Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 510630, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yanli Li
- Biotherapy Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 510630, Guangzhou, China
| | - Cong Du
- Biotherapy Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 510630, Guangzhou, China
- Cell-gene Therapy Translational Medicine Research Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 510630, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 510630, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shuai Dong
- Biotherapy Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 510630, Guangzhou, China
| | - Andy Peng Xiang
- Biotherapy Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 510630, Guangzhou, China.
- Key Laboratory for Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Center for Stem Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, 510080, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Yan Xu
- Biotherapy Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 510630, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Qi Zhang
- Biotherapy Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 510630, Guangzhou, China.
- Cell-gene Therapy Translational Medicine Research Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 510630, Guangzhou, China.
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 510630, Guangzhou, China.
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Chitinase-3 like-protein-1 function and its role in diseases. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2020; 5:201. [PMID: 32929074 PMCID: PMC7490424 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-020-00303-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 209] [Impact Index Per Article: 52.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-enzymatic chitinase-3 like-protein-1 (CHI3L1) belongs to glycoside hydrolase family 18. It binds to chitin, heparin, and hyaluronic acid, and is regulated by extracellular matrix changes, cytokines, growth factors, drugs, and stress. CHI3L1 is synthesized and secreted by a multitude of cells including macrophages, neutrophils, synoviocytes, chondrocytes, fibroblast-like cells, smooth muscle cells, and tumor cells. It plays a major role in tissue injury, inflammation, tissue repair, and remodeling responses. CHI3L1 has been strongly associated with diseases including asthma, arthritis, sepsis, diabetes, liver fibrosis, and coronary artery disease. Moreover, following its initial identification in the culture supernatant of the MG63 osteosarcoma cell line, CHI3L1 has been shown to be overexpressed in a wealth of both human cancers and animal tumor models. To date, interleukin-13 receptor subunit alpha-2, transmembrane protein 219, galectin-3, chemo-attractant receptor-homologous 2, and CD44 have been identified as CHI3L1 receptors. CHI3L1 signaling plays a critical role in cancer cell growth, proliferation, invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, activation of tumor-associated macrophages, and Th2 polarization of CD4+ T cells. Interestingly, CHI3L1-based targeted therapy has been increasingly applied to the treatment of tumors including glioma and colon cancer as well as rheumatoid arthritis. This review summarizes the potential roles and mechanisms of CHI3L1 in oncogenesis and disease pathogenesis, then posits investigational strategies for targeted therapies.
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