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Metwally M, Bayoumi A, Khan A, Adams LA, Aller R, García-Monzón C, Arias-Loste MT, Bugianesi E, Miele L, Anna A, Latchoumanin O, Han S, Alenizi S, Sharkawy RE, Elattar A, Gallego-Durán R, Fischer J, Berg T, Liddle C, Romero-Gomez M, George J, Eslam M. Copy number variation and expression of exportin-4 associates with severity of fibrosis in metabolic associated fatty liver disease. EBioMedicine 2021; 70:103521. [PMID: 34388518 PMCID: PMC8365315 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Liver fibrosis risk is a heritable trait, the outcome of which is the net deposition of extracellular matrix by hepatic stellate cell-derived myofibroblasts. Whereas nucleotide sequence variations have been extensively studied in liver fibrosis, the role of copy number variations (CNV) in which genes exist in abnormal numbers of copies (mostly due to duplication or deletion) has had limited exploration. Methods The impact of the XPO4 CNV on histological liver damage was examined in a cohort comprised 646 Caucasian patients with biopsy-proven MAFLD and 170 healthy controls. XPO4 expression was modulated and function was examined in human and animal models. Findings Here we demonstrate in a cohort of 816 subjects, 646 with biopsy-proven metabolic associated liver disease (MAFLD) and 170 controls, that duplication in the exportin 4 (XPO4) CNV is associated with the severity of liver fibrosis. Functionally, this occurs via reduced expression of hepatic XPO4 that maintains sustained activation of SMAD3/SMAD4 and promotes TGF-β1-mediated HSC activation and fibrosis. This effect was mediated through termination of nuclear SMAD3 signalling. XPO4 demonstrated preferential binding to SMAD3 compared to other SMADs and led to reduced SMAD3-mediated responses as shown by attenuation of TGFβ1 induced SMAD transcriptional activity, reductions in the recruitment of SMAD3 to target gene promoters following TGF-β1, as well as attenuation of SMAD3 phosphorylation and disturbed SMAD3/SMAD4 complex formation. Interpretation We conclude that a CNV in XPO4 is a critical mediator of fibrosis severity and can be exploited as a therapeutic target for liver fibrosis. Funding ME and JG are supported by the Robert W. Storr Bequest to the Sydney Medical Foundation, University of Sydney; a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Program Grant (APP1053206) and Project and ideas grants (APP2001692, APP1107178 and APP1108422). AB is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship. EB is supported by Horizon 2020 under grant 634413 for the project EPoS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayada Metwally
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Ali Bayoumi
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Anis Khan
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Leon A Adams
- Medical School, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Unit, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia
| | - Rocio Aller
- Center of Investigation of Endocrinology and Nutrition, School of Medicine, and Unit of Investigation, Hospital Clinico Universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Carmelo García-Monzón
- Liver Research Unit, Instituto de Investigacion Sanitaria Princesa, University Hospital Santa Cristina, CIBERehd, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Teresa Arias-Loste
- Gastroenterology and Hepatology Department, Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, 39008 Santander, Spain
| | - Elisabetta Bugianesi
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medical Science, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Luca Miele
- Department of Internal Medicine, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy
| | - Alisi Anna
- Research Unit of Molecular Genetics of Complex Phenotypes, IRCCS "Bambino Gesù" Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Olivier Latchoumanin
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Shuanglin Han
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Shafi Alenizi
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Rasha El Sharkawy
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Afaf Elattar
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Rocio Gallego-Durán
- Virgen del Rocío University Hospital, Institute of Biomedicine of Seville, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Janett Fischer
- Section of Hepatology, Clinic for Gastroenterology and Rheumatology, University Clinic Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Thomas Berg
- Section of Hepatology, Clinic for Gastroenterology and Rheumatology, University Clinic Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christopher Liddle
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Manuel Romero-Gomez
- Virgen del Rocío University Hospital, Institute of Biomedicine of Seville, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Jacob George
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
| | - Mohammed Eslam
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
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El Sharkawy R, George J, Eslam M. Editorial: STAT-4 polymorphism - a tool to personalise clinical practice in chronic HBV infection. Authors' reply. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2018; 48:769-770. [PMID: 30246306 DOI: 10.1111/apt.14940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rasha El Sharkawy
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Jacob George
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Mohammed Eslam
- Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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