2. Academic Validation
  3. The Deubiquitinase OTULIN Is an Essential Negative Regulator of Inflammation and Autoimmunity

The Deubiquitinase OTULIN Is an Essential Negative Regulator of Inflammation and Autoimmunity

  • Cell. 2016 Aug 25;166(5):1215-1230.e20. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.07.019.
Rune Busk Damgaard 1,  Jennifer A Walker 1,  Paola Marco-Casanova 1,  Neil V Morgan 2,  Hannah L Titheradge 3,  Paul R Elliott 1,  Duncan McHale 4,  Eamonn R Maher 5,  Andrew N J McKenzie 6,  David Komander 7
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK.
  • 2 Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
  • 3 Department of Clinical Genetics, Birmingham Women's NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham B15 2TG, UK; Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
  • 4 New Medicines, UCB Pharma, Slough SL1 3WE, UK.
  • 5 Department of Medical Genetics, University of Cambridge and Cambridge NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 6 Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 7 Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 27523608 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.07.019
Abstract

Methionine-1 (M1)-linked ubiquitin chains regulate the activity of NF-κB, immune homeostasis, and responses to Infection. The importance of negative regulators of M1-linked chains in vivo remains poorly understood. Here, we show that the M1-specific Deubiquitinase OTULIN is essential for preventing TNF-associated systemic inflammation in humans and mice. A homozygous hypomorphic mutation in human OTULIN causes a potentially fatal autoinflammatory condition termed OTULIN-related autoinflammatory syndrome (ORAS). Four independent OTULIN mouse models reveal that OTULIN deficiency in immune cells results in cell-type-specific effects, ranging from over-production of inflammatory cytokines and autoimmunity due to accumulation of M1-linked polyubiquitin and spontaneous NF-κB activation in myeloid cells to downregulation of M1-polyubiquitin signaling by degradation of LUBAC in B and T cells. Remarkably, treatment with anti-TNF neutralizing Antibodies ameliorates inflammation in ORAS patients and rescues mouse phenotypes. Hence, OTULIN is critical for restraining life-threatening spontaneous inflammation and maintaining immune homeostasis.

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