Knockout of Sema4D alleviates liver fibrosis by suppressing AOX1 expression

Abstract

Liver fibrosis can occur in many chronic liver diseases, and no effective treatments are available due to the poorly characterized molecular pathogenesis. Semaphorin 4D (Sema4D) has immune functions and serves important roles in T cell priming. Here, we found that Sema4D was highly expressed in fibrotic liver, and the expression of Sema4D increased with hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation. Knockout of Sema4D alleviated liver fibrosis. Mechanistically, knockout of Sema4D alleviated liver fibrosis by suppressing the expression of AOX1 in retinol metabolism. Further investigation demonstrated that retinoic acid receptor α (RARA), an important nuclear receptor of retinoic acid, was reduced by Sema4D knockout during liver fibrogenesis. Sema4D knockout-mediated suppression of liver fibrosis was partly mediated by regulating the balance of Th1, Th2, Th17, and T-bet⁺Treg cells via inhibiting AOX1/RARA. Thus, targeting Sema4D may hold promise as a potential therapeutic approach for treating liver fibrosis.

Keywords: AOX1; Liver fibrosis; Retinoic acid receptor α; Retinol metabolism; Semaphorin 4D.