Go to JCI Insight
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Publication ethics
  • Publication alerts by email
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Contact
  • Clinical Research and Public Health
  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • By specialty
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Immunology
    • Metabolism
    • Nephrology
    • Neuroscience
    • Oncology
    • Pulmonology
    • Vascular biology
    • All ...
  • Videos
    • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
    • Video Abstracts
  • Reviews
    • View all reviews ...
    • Complement Biology and Therapeutics (May 2025)
    • Evolving insights into MASLD and MASH pathogenesis and treatment (Apr 2025)
    • Microbiome in Health and Disease (Feb 2025)
    • Substance Use Disorders (Oct 2024)
    • Clonal Hematopoiesis (Oct 2024)
    • Sex Differences in Medicine (Sep 2024)
    • Vascular Malformations (Apr 2024)
    • View all review series ...
  • Viewpoint
  • Collections
    • In-Press Preview
    • Clinical Research and Public Health
    • Research Letters
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Editorials
    • Commentaries
    • Editor's notes
    • Reviews
    • Viewpoints
    • 100th anniversary
    • Top read articles

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Specialties
  • Reviews
  • Review series
  • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
  • Video Abstracts
  • In-Press Preview
  • Clinical Research and Public Health
  • Research Letters
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Editorials
  • Commentaries
  • Editor's notes
  • Reviews
  • Viewpoints
  • 100th anniversary
  • Top read articles
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Publication ethics
  • Publication alerts by email
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Contact
Zfp335 establishes eTreg lineage and neonatal immune tolerance by targeting Hadha-mediated fatty acid oxidation
Xin Wang, … , WanJun Chen, Baojun Zhang
Xin Wang, … , WanJun Chen, Baojun Zhang
Published October 16, 2023
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2023;133(20):e166628. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI166628.
View: Text | PDF
Research Article Autoimmunity Immunology

Zfp335 establishes eTreg lineage and neonatal immune tolerance by targeting Hadha-mediated fatty acid oxidation

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are instrumental in maintaining immune tolerance and preventing destructive autoimmunity, but how heterogeneous Treg populations are established remains largely unknown. Here, we show that Zfp335 deletion in Tregs failed to differentiate into effector Tregs (eTregs) and lose Treg-suppressive function and that KO mice exhibited early-onset lethal autoimmune inflammation with unrestricted activation of conventional T cells. Single-cell RNA-Seq analyses revealed that Zfp335-deficient Tregs lacked a eTreg population and showed dramatic accumulation of a dysfunctional Treg subset. Mechanistically, Zfp335-deficient Tregs displayed reduced oxidative phosphorylation and dysfunctional mitochondrial activity. Further studies revealed that Zfp335 controlled eTreg differentiation by regulating fatty acid oxidation (FAO) through direct targeting of the FAO enzyme Hadha. Importantly, we demonstrate a positive correlation between ZNF335 and HADHA expression in human eTregs. Our findings reveal that Zfp335 controls FAO-driven eTreg differentiation to establish immune tolerance.

Authors

Xin Wang, Lina Sun, Biao Yang, Wenhua Li, Cangang Zhang, Xiaofeng Yang, Yae Sun, Xiaonan Shen, Yang Gao, Bomiao Ju, Yafeng Gao, Dan Liu, Jiapeng Song, Xiaoxuan Jia, Yanhong Su, Anjun Jiao, Haiyan Liu, Lianjun Zhang, Lan He, Lei Lei, WanJun Chen, Baojun Zhang

×

Figure 3

Zfp335 deficiency impairs the suppressive function of Tregs.

Options: View larger image (or click on image) Download as PowerPoint
Zfp335 deficiency impairs the suppressive function of Tregs.
(A) Represe...
(A) Representative histogram of CTV dilution of naive CD4+ T cells stimulated with anti-mCD3 Ab and antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in the presence of WT or KO Tregs for 60 hours. (B) Frequencies of each cell division (n = 4). (C) Frequencies of initial body weights of recipient mice 25 days after transfer with 5 × 105 Tcons alone, or together with 2.5 × 105 WT (Tcon+WT Treg) or KO (Tcon+KO Treg) Tregs. *P ≤ 0.05, **P ≤ 0.01, ***P ≤ 0.001 (Tcon+WT Treg vs. Tcon+KO Treg); #P ≤ 0.05 and ##P ≤ 0.01 (Tcon vs. Tcon+WT Treg). (D–F) Representative images of colons (D), histology images of colon sections (E), and images of spleens (F) from recipient mice (original magnification, ×8). (G) Numbers of CD44+CD62L– splenic CD4+ T cells (n = 3). (H and I) Representative FACS plots of IFN-γ expression (H) and frequencies of IFN-γ+ (I) in splenic CD4+ T cells. (J and K) Representative FACS plots of IL-17 expression (J) and frequencies of IL-17+ (K) in splenic CD4+ T cells (n = 4). (L) Schematic diagram of Treg transfer assay and images of recipient mice and spleens and LNs 19 days after the transfer. (M) Frequencies of CD44+CD62L– cells in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in spleens (left) and LNs (right) from recipient mice (n = 3–4). Data are representative of 2 independent experiments and are shown as the mean ± SEM. *P ≤ 0.05, **P ≤ 0.01, ***P ≤ 0.001, and ****P ≤ 0.0001; #P ≤ 0.05 and ##P ≤ 0.01. Statistical significance was determined by 2-sided, unpaired t test (B and C) and 1-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple-comparison test (G, I, K, and M).

Copyright © 2025 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

Sign up for email alerts