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MERTK inhibition for the treatment of tissue fibrosis [scMultiome]

ABSTRACT: Fibrosis is a core pathway that drives the progression of multiple chronic diseases for which there is a paucity of safe and effective treatments. In these diseases, transforming growth factor–β (TGF-β)–driven scarring propels disease progression. However, targeting this ubiquitously expressed cytokine is unlikely to yield a viable and safe antifibrotic therapy; thus, identification of alternative mechanisms to inhibit TGF-β signalling is required. We identified Mer tyrosine kinase (MERTK) as a TGF-β–inducible nodal effector of fibrosis that is up-regulated with fibrosis in multiple organs in both mice and humans. MERTK also induces TGF-β expression and promotes it’s signalling resulting in a positive feedback loop that promotes fibrosis. Mechanistically, MERTK regulates both canonical and non-canonical TGFβ signalling. Further downstream, MERTK modulates the fibrotic regulatory gene transcription network by regulating chromatin accessibility, RNA polymerase II (pol II) pausing and reprograming the enhancer landscape. Using mouse models of kidney, lung, and liver fibrosis, we demonstrate that this fibrosis-promoting signalling loop can be interrupted by loss of MERTK expression, leading to marked attenuation of fibrosis. Pharmacologic MERTK inhibition reduced fibrosis either when initiated immediately after injury or when initiated after fibrosis is established. Together, this data suggests that MERTK plays a critical role in modulating organ fibrosis, while small-molecule MERTK inhibitors are an attractive target for the treatment of diseases characterized by fibrosis.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE234167 | GEO | 2024/03/05

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:During chronic liver disease, tissue remodeling leads to dramatic changes and accumulation of matrix components. Matrix metalloproteases and their inhibitors have been involved in the regulation of matrix degradation. However, the role of other proteases remains incompletely defined. We undertook a gene-expression screen of human liver fibrosis samples using a dedicated gene array selected for relevance to protease activities, identifying the ADAMTS1 (A Disintegrin And Metalloproteinase [ADAM] with thrombospondin type 1 motif, 1) gene as an important node of the protease network. Up-regulation of ADAMTS1 in fibrosis was found to be associated with hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation. ADAMTS1 is synthesized as 110-kDa latent forms and is processed by HSCs to accumulate as 87-kDa mature forms in fibrotic tissues. Structural evidence has suggested that the thrombospondin motif-containing domain from ADAMTS1 may be involved in interactions with, and activation of, the major fibrogenic cytokine, transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β). Indeed, we observed direct interactions between ADAMTS1 and latency-associated peptide-TGF-β (LAP-TGF-β). ADAMTS1 induces TGF-β activation through the interaction of the ADAMTS1 KTFR peptide with the LAP-TGF-β LKSL peptide. Down-regulation of ADAMTS1 in HSCs decreases the release of TGF-β competent for transcriptional activation, and KTFR competitor peptides directed against ADAMTS1 block the HSC-mediated release of active TGF-β. Using a mouse liver fibrosis model, we show that carbon tetrachloride treatment induces ADAMTS1 expression in parallel to that of type I collagen. Importantly, concurrent injection of the KTFR peptide prevents liver damage. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that up-regulation of ADAMTS1 in HSCs constitutes a new mechanism for control of TGF-β activation in chronic liver disease. Total RNA from 32 patients with hepatic fibrosis associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (n=15) or alcohol abuse (n=17) versus a common pooled control liver sample, inverting the cy3 and cy5 labelling for each sample.

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MERTK inhibition for the treatment of tissue fibrosis [scMultiome]

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