Cell Reports (Aug 2024)

Inherent preference for polyunsaturated fatty acids instigates ferroptosis of Treg cells that aggravates high-fat-diet-related colitis

  • Junjie Yan,
  • Yingying Zeng,
  • Zerong Guan,
  • Zhenhua Li,
  • Shunchang Luo,
  • Jie Niu,
  • Junzhang Zhao,
  • Haibiao Gong,
  • Ting Huang,
  • Zhongzhen Li,
  • Anyi Deng,
  • Qiong Wen,
  • Jingyi Tan,
  • Jun Jiang,
  • Xiucong Bao,
  • Sitao Li,
  • Guodong Sun,
  • Min Zhang,
  • Min Zhi,
  • Zhinan Yin,
  • Wan-Yang Sun,
  • Yi-Fang Li,
  • Rong-Rong He,
  • Guangchao Cao

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 43, no. 8
p. 114636

Abstract

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Summary: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has high prevalence in Western counties. The high fat content in Western diets is one of the leading causes for this prevalence; however, the underlying mechanisms have not been fully defined. Here, we find that high-fat diet (HFD) induces ferroptosis of intestinal regulatory T (Treg) cells, which might be the key initiating step for the disruption of immunotolerance and the development of colitis. Compared with effector T cells, Treg cells favor lipid metabolism and prefer polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) for the synthesis of membrane phospholipids. Therefore, consumption of HFD, which has high content of PUFAs such as arachidonic acid, cultivates vulnerable Tregs that are fragile to lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis. Treg-cell-specific deficiency of GPX4, the key enzyme in maintaining cellular redox homeostasis and preventing ferroptosis, dramatically aggravates the pathogenesis of HFD-induced IBD. Taken together, these studies expand our understanding of IBD etiology.

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