Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Ciou, Jing-Jie
• Chien, Ming-Wei
• Hsu, Chao-Yuan
• Liu, Yu-Wen
• Dong, Jia-Ling
• Tsai, Shin-Ying
• Yang, Sung-Sen
• Lin, Shih-Hua
• Yen, B Lin-Ju
• Fu, Shin-Huei
• Sytwu, Huey-Kang

Titel

Excess Salt Intake Activates IL-21-Dominant Autoimmune Diabetogenesis via a Salt-Regulated Ste20-Related Proline/Alanine-Rich Kinase in CD4 T Cells

Ist Teil von

• Diabetes (New York, N.Y.), 2024-04, Vol.73 (4), p.592

Ort / Verlag

United States

Erscheinungsjahr

2024

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The fundamental mechanisms by which a diet affects susceptibility to or modifies autoimmune diseases are poorly understood. Excess dietary salt intake acts as a risk factor for autoimmune diseases; however, little information exists on the impact of salt intake on type 1 diabetes. To elucidate the potential effect of high salt intake on autoimmune diabetes, nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice were fed a high-salt diet (HSD) or a normal-salt diet (NSD) from 6 to 12 weeks of age and monitored for diabetes development. Our results revealed that the HSD accelerated diabetes progression with more severe insulitis in NOD mice in a CD4+ T-cell-autonomous manner when compared with the NSD group. Moreover, expression of IL-21 and SPAK in splenic CD4+ T cells from HSD-fed mice was significantly upregulated. Accordingly, we generated T-cell-specific SPAK knockout (CKO) NOD mice and demonstrated that SPAK deficiency in T cells significantly attenuated diabetes development in NOD mice by downregulating IL-21 expression in CD4+ T cells. Furthermore, HSD-triggered diabetes acceleration was abolished in HSD-fed SPAK CKO mice when compared with HSD-fed NOD mice, suggesting an essential role of SPAK in salt-exacerbated T-cell pathogenicity. Finally, pharmacological inhibition of SPAK activity using a specific SPAK inhibitor (closantel) in NOD mice ameliorated diabetogenesis, further illuminating the potential of a SPAK-targeting immunotherapeutic approach for autoimmune diabetes. Here, we illustrate that a substantial association between salt sensitivity and the functional impact of SPAK on T-cell pathogenicity is a central player linking high-salt-intake influences to immunopathophysiology of diabetogenesis in NOD mice.