Immune dysregulation in SHARPIN-deficient mice is dependent on CYLD-mediated cell death

Rosalind L Ang1, Mark Chan2,3, Diana Legarda2

  • 1Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029; rang.phd776@gmail.com ting.adrian@mayo.edu.

Insights

The Sharpin protein deficiency causes immune problems by failing to inhibit CYLD, a deubiquitinase. Restoring CYLD inhibition reverses these inflammatory effects in mice.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • The linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex (LUBAC), comprising SHARPIN, RNF31/HOIP, and RBCK1/HOIL1, catalyzes M1-linked polyubiquitination.
  • Mutations in LUBAC components cause autoinflammation and immunodeficiency, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood.
  • CYLD is a deubiquitinase known to remove K63-linked polyubiquitin chains.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the mechanism by which SHARPIN deficiency leads to immune dysregulation.
  • To investigate the role of CYLD in the autoinflammatory phenotype observed in Sharpin-deficient mice.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of Sharpin-deficient mouse models.
  • Investigation of CYLD's role in Sharpin-deficient cells and tissues.
  • Assessment of RIPK1 association with death-signaling Complex II.
  • Examination of CYLD phosphorylation status.
  • Conditional deletion of Cyld in myeloid cells.

Main Results:

  • The autoinflammatory phenotype of Sharpin-deficient mice was dependent on CYLD and fully reversed by its absence.
  • Sharpin deficiency led to enhanced RIPK1 recruitment to TNF-induced Complex II, linked to impaired CYLD phosphorylation.
  • Deletion of CYLD ameliorated dermatitis in Sharpin-deficient mice, indicating CYLD-dependent myeloid cell death contributes to inflammation.

Conclusions:

  • Under physiological conditions, linear ubiquitination by LUBAC inhibits CYLD activity, preventing TNF- and RIPK1-dependent cell death.
  • SHARPIN deficiency disrupts this inhibitory mechanism, leading to pathological inflammation.
  • The findings reveal a critical role for CYLD in suppressing inflammatory cell death pathways regulated by LUBAC.