The histone methyltransferase DOT1L is a new epigenetic regulator of pulmonary fibrosis
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive interstitial lung disease with increasing occurrence, high death rates, and unfavorable treatment regimens. The pathogenesis underlying IPF is complex and the epigenetic contributions to IPF are largely unknown. Recent studies have shown that DOT1...
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Published in | Cell death & disease Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 60 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
Nature Publishing Group UK
17.01.2022
Springer Nature B.V Nature Publishing Group |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive interstitial lung disease with increasing occurrence, high death rates, and unfavorable treatment regimens. The pathogenesis underlying IPF is complex and the epigenetic contributions to IPF are largely unknown. Recent studies have shown that DOT1L (Disruptor of telomeric silencing-1 like), a histone H3K79 methyltransferase, contributes to fibrosis response, but its role in IPF remains unclear. DOT1L, H3K79me3, and the profibrotic proteins levels were upregulated in the pulmonary fibrosis models both in vivo and in vitro. Lentivirus-mediated DOT1L knockdown or DOT1L-specific inhibitor EPZ5676 alleviated the pathogenesis of bleomycin-induced mouse pulmonary fibrosis. Furthermore, heterozygous DOT1L-deficient mice (
Dot1l
+/−
) showed less sensitive to pulmonary fibrosis, as shown by decreased lung fibrosis phenotypes in vivo. Mechanically, DOT1L regulated TGF-β1-induced fibroblasts fibrosis by increasing enrichments of H3K79me3 on the promoter of
Jag1
gene (encoding the Notch ligand Jagged1), enhancing the expression of Jagged1, which in turn stimulated exuberant Notch signaling and actuated the fibrosis response. In conclusion, our study confirmed DOT1L to be an epigenetic modifier in the pathogenesis of lung fibrosis, revealed a counterbalancing mechanism governing
Jag1
transcription by modulating H3K79 trimethylation at the
Jag1
promoter, activating the Notch signaling, and affecting the expression of profibrotic proteins to accelerate the lung fibrosis. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 2041-4889 2041-4889 |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41419-021-04365-5 |