IL-18 drives the Bhlhe40-mediated pathogenic Th17 cell response and exacerbates autoimmune disease progression

Inflammatory cytokine overproduction is critically involved in immune dysregulation and tissue damage, but the role of interleukin-18 (IL-18), a cytokine associated with inflammasome activation, in modulating the T-cell response and autoimmune pathogenesis remains largely unclear. In this study, we detected high expression levels of the IL-18 receptor α chain (IL-18Rα) in murine and human Th17 cells. In culture, IL-18 markedly promoted Th17 cell differentiation with increased GM-CSF production, a phenotype of pathogenic Th17 (pTh17) cells. Transcriptomic profiling via RNA sequencing revealed that IL-18-induced pTh17 cells presented increased glycolytic flux and proinflammatory signatures. Mechanistically, IL-18 promoted Stat3 phosphorylation, which stabilized Bhlhe40 mRNA to potentiate Bhlhe40-dependent glycolysis and cytokine production. In patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), IL-18 levels in plasma and inflamed tissues were significantly increased and positively correlated with disease activity. Moreover, the expression levels of IL-18 were markedly increased in the salivary glands of experimental Sjögren's syndrome (ESS) model mice and the renal tissues of lupus model mice. Furthermore, adoptive transfer of IL-18-induced pTh17 cells profoundly exacerbated disease severity and tissue damage in recipient IL-17-deficient mice, whereas IL-18 neutralization with a monoclonal antibody effectively suppressed the pTh17 cell response and ameliorated tissue pathology in both ESS and lupus mice. Together, our findings reveal a novel function of IL-18 in driving the pTh17 cell response during autoimmune development, indicating that IL-18 blockade may serve as a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.