#3566 acss2 aggravates renal tubular inflammation by inducing the dysregulation of fatty acid metabolism and mitochondrial oxidative stress in diabetic mice

Abstract Background and Aims Treatment options for diabetic nephropathy (DN) are currently limited. Chronic renal inflammation has been widely recognized as a major promoter of DN. The tubular epithelial cells are a major source of IL-1β in diabetic db/db mice. Inhibition of Acetyl CoA Synthase 2 (ACSS2) has been shown to promote high-fat diet-induced liver injuries, but the underlying mechanism of action of ACSS2 in diabetic renal injuries has not been elucidated. Method Streptozotocin (STZ) was intraperitoneally injected to establish the diabetic mouse model. We investigated the effects of ACSS2 on diabetes-induced renal tubular injury in transgenic mice with global acss2 knockout (acss2−/−). PAS staining was carried out to evaluate pathological injury of kidneys in mice. The renal tissue immunostaining was conducted to detect IL-1β expression and macrophage distribution in kidney tissues of mice. HK-2 cell culture model was achieved by high glucose stimulation in vitro. Real-time PCR analysis was applied to evaluate gene expression of inflammatory factors IL-1β, TNF-α, and MCP-1. Western Blot and immunofluorescence staining were conducted to the activation of the NLRP3 pathway and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS). Results ACSS2 was upregulated in STZ-induced diabetic renal tubular cells, which is significantly co-expressed in IL-1β-positive renal tubular cells of STZ-induced diabetic mice. The mice with acss2−/- exhibited decreased renal tubular inflammation and inhibited NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation as evidenced by elevated protein levels of NLRP3 and cleaved caspase-1 when compared with diabetic wild-type mice. The selective inhibition of ACSS2 protected HK-2 cells in vitro when exposed to a high glucose environment by downregulating NLRP3 inflammasome and ameliorating mitochondrial oxidative stress. Mechanistically, we showed that mitochondrial dysfunction preceded inflammatory response in vitro. The elimination of mitochondrial ROS using mitochondria-targeted antioxidants (mito-TEMPO) reversed HG-mediated NLRP3 inflammation activation in HK-2 cells, which recapitalized the phenotype observed in acss2-/- mice. We also found that cytoplasm ACSS2, which was increased after HG stimulation, induced fatty acid synthase (FASN) mediated overproduction of free fatty acid. Downregulating FASN using FASN-small interfering RNA restored mitochondrial function, and suppressed NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Conclusion In conclusion, diabetes-induced ACSS2 upregulation led to subsequent FASN-mediated dysregulation of fatty acid metabolism and mitochondrial ROS overproduction, eventually causing NLRP3 inflammasome activation and renal inflammation. Therefore, our findings established the role of ACSS2 in diabetes-induced inflammation of renal tubular epithelium and unveiled the underlying mechanism of its action. ACSS2 appears as a promising target for treating diabetic renal tubular epithelial inflammation.