title: ADAR1 Prevents Liver Injury from Inflammation and Suppresses Interferon Production in Hepatocytes.
abstract: Adenosine deaminase acting on RNA 1 (ADAR1) is an essential protein for embryonic liver development. ADAR1 loss is embryonically lethal because of severe liver damage. Although ADAR1 is required in adult livers to prevent liver cell death, as demonstrated by liver-specific conditional knockout (Alb-ADAR1(KO)) mice, the mechanism remains elusive. We systematically analyzed Alb-ADAR1(KO) mice for liver damage. Differentiation genes and inflammatory pathways were examined in hepatic tissues from Alb-ADAR1(KO) and littermate controls. Inducible ADAR1 KO mice were used to validate regulatory effects of ADAR1 on inflammatory cytokines. We found that Alb-ADAR1(KO) mice showed dramatic growth retardation and high mortality because of severe structural and functional damage to the liver, which showed overwhelming inflammation, cell death, fibrosis, fatty change, and compensatory regeneration. Simultaneously, Alb-ADAR1(KO) showed altered expression of key differentiation genes and significantly higher levels of hepatic inflammatory cytokines, especially type I interferons, which was also verified by inducible ADAR1 knockdown in primary hepatocyte cultures. We conclude that ADAR1 is an essential molecule for maintaining adult liver homeostasis and, in turn, morphological and functional integrity. It inhibits the production of type I interferons and other inflammatory cytokines. Our findings may provide novel insight in the pathogenesis of liver diseases caused by excessive inflammatory responses, including autoimmune hepatitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of General Surgery, Union Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Guoliang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Sucha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Pei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Shengyong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Yujuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Zhaowei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Union Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Jinxiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Cardiology, Center for Vascular Disease and Translational Medicine, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Billiar
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: smonga@pitt.edu.
authors.forename: Satdarshan P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Monga
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Cardiology, Center for Vascular Disease and Translational Medicine, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China. Electronic address: wangqd@pitt.edu.
authors.forename: Qingde
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000243:Adenosine Deaminase / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D055786:Gene Knockout Techniques / Q000379:methods; D006505:Hepatitis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D007372:Interferons / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D018345:Mice, Knockout
chemical_list: D001798:Blood Proteins; D016207:Cytokines; D008055:Lipids; D007372:Interferons; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; C000599465:ADAR1 protein, mouse; D000243:Adenosine Deaminase