WSTF nuclear autophagy regulates chronic but not acute inflammation

Yu Wang, Vinay V. Eapen, Yaosi Liang, Athanasios Kournoutis, Marc Samuel Sherman, Yanxin Xu, Angelique Onorati, Xianting Li, Xiaoting Zhou, Kathleen E. Corey, Kuo Du, Ana Maria Cabral Burkard, Chia-Kang Ho, Jing Xie, Hui Zhang, Raquel Maeso-Díaz, Xinyi Ma, Ulrike Rieprecht, Tara O’Brien, Murat Cetinbas, Lu Wang, Jihe Liu, Corey Bretz, Aaron P. Havas, Zhuo Zhou, Shannan J. Ho Sui, Srinivas Vinod Saladi, Ruslan I. Sadreyev, Peter D. Adams, Robert E. Kingston, Anna Mae Diehl, Benjamin Alman, Wolfram Goessling, Zhenyu Yue, Xiao-Fan Wang (), Terje Johansen () and Zhixun Dou ()
Additional contact information
Yu Wang: Massachusetts General Hospital
Vinay V. Eapen: Harvard Medical School
Yaosi Liang: Massachusetts General Hospital
Athanasios Kournoutis: University of Tromsø—The Arctic University of Norway
Marc Samuel Sherman: Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Yanxin Xu: Massachusetts General Hospital
Angelique Onorati: Massachusetts General Hospital
Xianting Li: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Xiaoting Zhou: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Kathleen E. Corey: Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Kuo Du: Duke University
Ana Maria Cabral Burkard: Massachusetts General Hospital
Chia-Kang Ho: Massachusetts General Hospital
Jing Xie: Duke University
Hui Zhang: Duke University
Raquel Maeso-Díaz: Duke University
Xinyi Ma: Duke University Medical Center
Ulrike Rieprecht: Massachusetts General Hospital
Tara O’Brien: Massachusetts General Hospital
Murat Cetinbas: Harvard Medical School
Lu Wang: UT Health San Antonio
Jihe Liu: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Corey Bretz: Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
Aaron P. Havas: Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
Zhuo Zhou: Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College
Shannan J. Ho Sui: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Srinivas Vinod Saladi: College of Medicine and Life Sciences
Ruslan I. Sadreyev: Harvard Medical School
Peter D. Adams: Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
Robert E. Kingston: Massachusetts General Hospital
Anna Mae Diehl: Duke University
Benjamin Alman: Duke University
Wolfram Goessling: Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Zhenyu Yue: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Xiao-Fan Wang: Duke University Medical Center
Terje Johansen: University of Tromsø—The Arctic University of Norway
Zhixun Dou: Massachusetts General Hospital

Nature, 2025, vol. 644, issue 8077, 780-789

Abstract: Abstract Acute inflammation is an essential response that our bodies use to combat infections1. However, in the absence of infections, chronic inflammation can have a pivotal role in the onset and progression of chronic diseases, such as arthritis, cancer, autoimmune disorders, metabolic-dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), and most ageing-associated pathologies2,3. The underlying mechanisms that distinguish chronic inflammation from its acute counterpart remain unclear, posing challenges to the development of targeted therapies for these major diseases. Here we identify a mechanism that separates the two responses: during chronic but not acute inflammation, chromatin remodelling is influenced by nuclear autophagy, in which the WSTF protein of the ISWI chromatin-remodelling complex interacts with the ATG8 autophagy protein family in the nucleus. This interaction leads to WSTF nuclear export and subsequent degradation by autophagosomes and lysosomes in the cytoplasm. Loss of WSTF leads to chromatin opening over inflammatory genes, amplifying inflammation. Cell-penetrating peptides that block the WSTF–ATG8 interaction do not affect acute inflammation but suppress chronic inflammation in senescence as well as in MASH and osteoarthritis in mouse models and patient samples. The ability to specifically target chronic inflammation without blunting acute inflammation offers an approach for treating common chronic inflammatory diseases.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09234-1

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