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siRNA Screening to Identify Ubiquitin and Ubiquitin-like System Regulators of Biological Pathways in Cultured Mammalian Cells
Published on: May 24, 2014
The cholesterol biosynthesis pathway regulates IL-10 expression in human Th1 cells
Esperanza Perucha1,2, Rossella Melchiotti3, Jack A Bibby4,5
1Academic Department of Rheumatology, King's College London, London, SE1 1UL, UK. esperanza.perucha@kcl.ac.uk.
Abstract:
The mechanisms controlling CD4+ T cell switching from an effector to an anti-inflammatory (IL-10+) phenotype play an important role in the persistence of chronic inflammatory diseases. Here, we identify the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway as a key regulator of this process. Pathway analysis of cultured cytokine-producing human T cells reveals a significant association between IL-10 and cholesterol metabolism gene expression. Inhibition of the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway with atorvastatin or 25-hydroxycholesterol during switching from IFNγ+ to IL-10+ shows a specific block in immune resolution, defined as a significant decrease in IL-10 expression. Mechanistically, the master transcriptional regulator of IL10 in T cells, c-Maf, is significantly decreased by physiological levels of 25-hydroxycholesterol. Strikingly, progression to rheumatoid arthritis is associated with altered expression of cholesterol biosynthesis genes in synovial biopsies of predisposed individuals. Our data reveal a link between sterol metabolism and the regulation of the anti-inflammatory response in human CD4+ T cells.
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