Histone Acetyltransferase Mof Affects the Progression of DSS-Induced Colitis

Background/aims: Histone acetylation has been demonstrated to be associated with inflammation response. Histone acetyltransferase (HAT) Mof, specifically acetylating lysine 16 of histone H4 (H4K16), has been reported to regulate T cell differentiation. In addition, it has been suggested that acetylation of H4K16 is associated with the inflammatory response. We evaluated the role and potential mechanism of Mof in the development of experimental colitis.

Methods: We used Mof conditional knockout mice to study the role of Mof in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis and detected the differential expression of genes due to Mof deficiency involved in the inflammatory response, particularly the Th17 signaling pathway, by western blotting, quantitative PCR and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq).

Results: A significant elevation of Mof was observed in colonic tissues of mice with DSS-induced colitis. Mof deficiency alleviated the severity of DSS- induced colitis in mice. We found that Th17 signaling pathway associated genes, including Il17a, Il22, RORγt, RORα, Stat3, TGF-β 1, and Il6, were downregulated in colon tissues with Mof deficiency. RNA-seq data analysis suggested that 68 genes were related to inflammatory response processing and 47 genes were downregulated in Mof defective colon tissues.

Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that HAT Mof is involved in the development of colitis, and the lack of Mof ameliorates DSS-induced colitis in mice.