TREM1 interferes with macrophage mitophagy via the E2F1-mediated TOMM40 transcription axis in rheumatoid arthritis

Elevated synovial expression of the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (TREM1) has been identified as a significant biomarker for assessing disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The upregulated expression of TREM1, induced by inflammatory mediators in infiltrating macrophages, plays a critical role in synovitis and joint destruction in RA. Our previous sequencing data linked TREM1 activation to aberrant mitophagy. Thus, we explored the efficacy of targeting TREM1 in treating experimental arthritis and its regulatory effect on mitophagy. TREM1 signalling activation was assessed via TREM1, DAP12, and p-SYK levels, and mitophagy was measured through PINK1, PARKIN, and LC3A/B levels. In vitro, TREM1-overexpressing RAW264.7 cells were generated, and the differences in expression and pathways were analyzed via RNA-seq. Changes in the number and morphology of mitochondria and mitophagy in TREM1-overexpressing RAW264.7 cells and normal control were observed via transmission electron microscopy, MitoTracker confocal microscopy and mitochondrial membrane potential analysis. The promotion of TOMM40 gene transcription by TREM1-activated E2F1 was determined via ChIP-PCR and E2F1 siRNA. We found that TREM1 was highly expressed and activated in the synovial tissues of CIA mice concomitant with abnormal mitophagy. The mitochondrial outer membrane transporter TOMM40 was upregulated in experimental arthritis, and the protein levels of PINK1 and LC3B were decreased. RNA-seq analysis indicated that mitophagy-related proteins were extensively downregulated and that the transcription factor E2F1 and the mitochondrial outer membrane transporter TOMM40 were significantly upregulated in TREM1-overexpressing cells. ChIP-PCR revealed that TREM1 overexpression significantly promoted the interaction between E2F1 and TOMM40 gene in RAW264.7 cells. E2F1 knockdown markedly reversed TOMM40 upregulation, mitophagy injury and ROS production in TREM1-overexpressing macrophages but not in control cells. Our study provides preliminary evidence that E2F1 regulates TOMM40 transcription and disrupts mitophagy flux in TREM1-activated macrophages. Inhibiting TREM1 effectively mitigated experimental arthritis by restoring macrophage mitophagy and reducing intracellular ROS levels.