The m⁷G methyltransferase METTL1 promotes acute kidney inflammation by disrupting mitochondrial function

RNA modifications regulate the progression of inflammatory diseases. However, the role of N⁷-methylguanosine (m⁷G) modification and its regulatory enzyme, methyltransferase-like 1 (METTL1), in inflammatory kidney diseases remains poorly understood. Here, we aimed to investigate the function and underlying mechanisms of METTL1-mediated m⁷G modification in acute kidney injury (AKI).

Kidney tubular epithelial cell (TEC)-specific METTL1 conditional knockout mice were used to evaluate the functional role of METTL1 in multiple AKI mouse models (cisplatin, ischemia/reperfusion and cecal ligation/puncture). Additionally, kidney tissue was obtained from patients with AKI and from the non-tumor kidney tissue of patients with nephrectomy for kidney cancer. RNA sequencing and m⁷G-methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing were performed to identify downstream targets and elucidate underlying mechanisms.

Both m⁷G modification and METTL1 expression were markedly upregulated in TECs from patients and mice with AKI. TEC-specific deletion of METTL1 significantly attenuated kidney injury and inflammation in the multiple AKI mouse models. Mechanistically, METTL1-mediated m⁷G modification enhanced the stability of the TEA domain transcription factor 2 (TEAD2) mRNA by the binding protein Quaking. Elevated TEAD2 impaired mitochondrial function by transcriptionally repressing medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (ACADM), thereby amplifying proinflammatory responses. METTL1 knockdown mediated by tetrahedral framework DNA nanostructures, as well as pharmacological inhibition with AZD1080, a novel METTL1 inhibitor, effectively alleviated the severity of AKI in mice in prevention and therapeutic approaches.

Our findings suggest that targeting the METTL1/TEAD2/ACADM axis may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for inflammatory kidney diseases.