iScience (Mar 2024)

Pathogenic mycobacterium upregulates cholesterol 25-hydroxylase to promote granuloma development via foam cell formation

  • Shuang Zhou,
  • Ding Zhang,
  • Dan Li,
  • Hankun Wang,
  • Cairong Ding,
  • Jingrui Song,
  • Weifeng Huang,
  • Xuan Xia,
  • Ziwei Zhou,
  • Shanshan Han,
  • Zhu Jin,
  • Bo Yan,
  • Jacqueline Gonzales,
  • Laura E. Via,
  • Lu Zhang,
  • Decheng Wang

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 27, no. 3
p. 109204

Abstract

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Summary: Pathogenic mycobacteria orchestrate the complex cell populations known as granuloma that is the hallmark of tuberculosis. Foam cells, a lipid-rich cell-type, are considered critical for granuloma formation; however, the causative factor in foam cell formation remains unclear. Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the abundant accumulation of lipid-laden-macrophage-derived foam cells during which cholesterol 25-hydroxylase (CH25H) is crucial in foam cell formation. Here, we show that M. marinum (Mm), a relative of M. tuberculosis, induces foam cell formation, leading to granuloma development following CH25H upregulation. Moreover, the Mm-driven increase in CH25H expression is associated with the presence of phthiocerol dimycocerosate, a determinant for Mm virulence and integrity. CH25H-null mice showed decreased foam cell formation and attenuated pathology. Atorvastatin, a recommended first-line lipid-lowering drug, promoted the elimination of M. marinum and concomitantly reduced CH25H production. These results define a previously unknown role for CH25H in controlling macrophage-derived foam cell formation and Tuberculosis pathology.

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