Loss of α2-6 sialylation promotes the transformation of synovial fibroblasts into a pro-inflammatory phenotype in arthritis.
Yilin WangAneesah KhanAristotelis AntonopoulosLaura BouchéChristopher Dominic BuckleyAndrew FilerKarim RazaKun-Ping LiBarbara TolussoElisa GremeseMariola Kurowska-StolarskaStefano AliverniniAnne DellStuart M HaslamMiguel A PinedaPublished in: Nature communications (2021)
In healthy joints, synovial fibroblasts (SFs) provide the microenvironment required to mediate homeostasis, but these cells adopt a pathological function in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Carbohydrates (glycans) on cell surfaces are fundamental regulators of the interactions between stromal and immune cells, but little is known about the role of the SF glycome in joint inflammation. Here we study stromal guided pathophysiology by mapping SFs glycosylation pathways. Combining transcriptomic and glycomic analysis, we show that transformation of fibroblasts into pro-inflammatory cells is associated with glycan remodeling, a process that involves TNF-dependent inhibition of the glycosyltransferase ST6Gal1 and α2-6 sialylation. SF sialylation correlates with distinct functional subsets in murine experimental arthritis and remission stages in human RA. We propose that pro-inflammatory cytokines remodel the SF-glycome, converting the synovium into an under-sialylated and highly pro-inflammatory microenvironment. These results highlight the importance of glycosylation in stromal immunology and joint inflammation.
Keyphrases
- rheumatoid arthritis
- disease activity
- induced apoptosis
- bone marrow
- oxidative stress
- cell cycle arrest
- ankylosing spondylitis
- stem cells
- single cell
- extracellular matrix
- interstitial lung disease
- endothelial cells
- high resolution
- transcription factor
- systemic lupus erythematosus
- escherichia coli
- peripheral blood
- cell therapy
- signaling pathway
- pi k akt
- systemic sclerosis
- high density
- pluripotent stem cells
- data analysis