| First Author | Li W | Year | 2021 |
| Journal | JCI Insight | Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 14 | PubMed ID | 34156979 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:313010 | Mgi Id | MGI:6793015 |
| Doi | 10.1172/jci.insight.143540 | Citation | Li W, et al. (2021) Lupus susceptibility gene Esrrg modulates regulatory T cells through mitochondrial metabolism. JCI Insight 6(14) |
| abstractText | Estrogen-related receptor gamma (Esrrg) is a murine lupus susceptibility gene associated with T cell activation. Here, we report that Esrrg controls Tregs through mitochondria homeostasis. Esrrg deficiency impaired the maintenance and function of Tregs, leading to global T cell activation and autoimmunity in aged mice. Further, Esrrg-deficient Tregs presented an impaired differentiation into follicular Tregs that enhanced follicular helper T cells' responses. Mechanistically, Esrrg-deficient Tregs presented with dysregulated mitochondria with decreased oxygen consumption as well as ATP and NAD+ production. In addition, Esrrg-deficient Tregs exhibited decreased phosphatidylinositol and TGF-beta signaling pathways and increased mTOR complex 1 activation. We found that the expression of human ESRRG, which is high in Tregs, was lower in CD4+ T cells from patients with lupus than in healthy controls. Finally, knocking down ESRRG in Jurkat T cells decreased their metabolism. Together, our results reveal a critical role of Esrrg in the maintenance and metabolism of Tregs, which may provide a genetic link between lupus pathogenesis and mitochondrial dysfunction in T cells. |
