Metabolomics and proteomics reveal blocking argininosuccinate synthetase 1 alleviates colitis in mice
Shijia Liu, Hai‐Jian Sun, Zijing Du, Shuai Lü, Chenwen Wang, Ye Zhang, Zichen Luo, Lu Wang, Zhimin Fan, Wei Peng, Yujiao Yan, Junzhi Zhang, Shusheng Yin, Tong‐Tong Liu, Qiongzi He, Xi Guo, Kang Ding, Jingjie Zhou, Haibing Hua, Chengli Yu, Weichen Xu, Jinjun Shan, Yongming Li, Yi Xu, Xiaotao Shen, Gang Cao, Wei Zhou
Abstract
To date, treating ulcerative colitis (UC) remains a significant challenge due to its complex etiology. In this study, metabolomics and proteomics analysis for multi-center cohorts reveal that both serum arginine levels and the rate-limiting enzyme argininosuccinate synthetase 1 (ASS1) are significantly elevated in UC patients. Exogenous arginine infusion and ASS1 overexpression exacerbate the pathological features of colitis in mice, while inhibiting or silencing ASS1 offers protection against experimental colitis. The induction of ASS1 is accompanied by increased levels of acetylated H3 and trimethylated H3K4, along with decreased levels of dimethyl H3K9 around the ASS1 promoters, suggesting epigenetic activation of ASS1 in colitis. The ASS1/arginine axis triggers mTOR and iNOS activation and induces gut microbiota dysbiosis, leading to experimental colitis. Additionally, we identify a screened compound, C-01, which significantly improves colitis by highly binding to ASS1. Our findings suggest that ASS1 could be a promising target for UC treatment. The management of ulcerative colitis (UC) remains challenging due to the complexity of its etiology. Here, the authors establish that argininosuccinate synthetase 1 (ASS1) and its metabolite arginine are pivotal inducers of UC, through the triggering of mTOR and iNOS activation, and the induction of gut microbiota dysbiosis by metabolomics and proteomics. Inhibition of ASS1 by C-01 provides a viable strategy for the treatment of UC.