Canonical NF-κB signaling maintains corneal epithelial integrity and prevents corneal aging via retinoic acid
Abstract
Disorders of the transparent cornea affect millions of people worldwide. However, how to maintain and/or regenerate this organ remains unclear. Here, we show that Rela (encoding a canonical NF-kB subunit) ablation in K14+ corneal epithelial stem cells not only disrupts corneal regeneration but also results in age-dependent epithelial deterioration, which triggers aberrant wound healing processes including stromal remodeling, neovascularization, epithelial metaplasia, and plaque formation at the central cornea. These anomalies are largely recapitulated in normal mice that age naturally. Mechanistically, Rela deletion suppresses expression of Aldh1a1, an enzyme required for retinoic acid synthesis from vitamin A. Retinoic acid administration blocks development of ocular anomalies in Krt14-Cre; Relaf/f mice and naturally aged mice. Moreover, epithelial metaplasia and plaque formation are preventable by inhibition of angiogenesis. This study thus uncovers major mechanisms governing corneal maintenance, regeneration and aging and identifies the NF-kB-retinoic acid pathway as a therapeutic target for corneal disorders.
Data availability
Sequencing data have been deposited in GEO database (NCBI) under the accession Series GSE161433
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFA0800801)
- Baojie Li
National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFA0800803)
- Baojie Li
National Natural Science Foundation of China (81520108012)
- Baojie Li
National Natural Science Foundation of China (91749201)
- Baojie Li
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Ethics
Animal experimentation: All the mouse work was carried out following the recommendations by the National Research Council Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, with the protocols approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Shanghai, China [SYXK(SH)2011-0112].
Copyright
© 2021, Yu et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Further reading
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- Cell Biology
Distal appendages are nine-fold symmetric blade-like structures attached to the distal end of the mother centriole. These structures are critical for formation of the primary cilium, by regulating at least four critical steps: ciliary vesicle recruitment, recruitment and initiation of intraflagellar transport (IFT), and removal of CP110. While specific proteins that localize to the distal appendages have been identified, how exactly each protein functions to achieve the multiple roles of the distal appendages is poorly understood. Here we comprehensively analyze known and newly discovered distal appendage proteins (CEP83, SCLT1, CEP164, TTBK2, FBF1, CEP89, KIZ, ANKRD26, PIDD1, LRRC45, NCS1, CEP15) for their precise localization, order of recruitment, and their roles in each step of cilia formation. Using CRISPR-Cas9 knockouts, we show that the order of the recruitment of the distal appendage proteins is highly interconnected and a more complex hierarchy. Our analysis highlights two protein modules, CEP83-SCLT1 and CEP164-TTBK2, as critical for structural assembly of distal appendages. Functional assays revealed that CEP89 selectively functions in RAB34+ ciliary vesicle recruitment, while deletion of the integral components, CEP83-SCLT1-CEP164-TTBK2, severely compromised all four steps of cilium formation. Collectively, our analyses provide a more comprehensive view of the organization and the function of the distal appendage, paving the way for molecular understanding of ciliary assembly.
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- Cell Biology
The primary cilium is a microtubule-based organelle that cycles through assembly and disassembly. In many cell types, formation of the cilium is initiated by recruitment of ciliary vesicles to the distal appendage of the mother centriole. However, the distal appendage mechanism that directly captures ciliary vesicles is yet to be identified. In an accompanying paper, we show that the distal appendage protein, CEP89, is important for the ciliary vesicle recruitment, but not for other steps of cilium formation (Tomoharu Kanie, Love, Fisher, Gustavsson, & Jackson, 2023). The lack of a membrane binding motif in CEP89 suggests that it may indirectly recruit ciliary vesicles via another binding partner. Here, we identify Neuronal Calcium Sensor-1 (NCS1) as a stoichiometric interactor of CEP89. NCS1 localizes to the position between CEP89 and a ciliary vesicle marker, RAB34, at the distal appendage. This localization was completely abolished in CEP89 knockouts, suggesting that CEP89 recruits NCS1 to the distal appendage. Similarly to CEP89 knockouts, ciliary vesicle recruitment as well as subsequent cilium formation was perturbed in NCS1 knockout cells. The ability of NCS1 to recruit the ciliary vesicle is dependent on its myristoylation motif and NCS1 knockout cells expressing a myristoylation defective mutant failed to rescue the vesicle recruitment defect despite localizing properly to the centriole. In sum, our analysis reveals the first known mechanism for how the distal appendage recruits the ciliary vesicles.