AUTHOR=Wu Kai-Xuan , Wang Xiao-Tong , Hu Xin-Lin , Jiang Xiao-Yong , Zhuang Jing-Cong , Xu Yan-Zhu , Lin Li-Rong , Tong Man-Li , Yang Tian-Ci , Liu Li-Li 

TITLE=LncRNA-ENST00000421645 Upregulates Kank1 to Inhibit IFN-γ Expression and Promote T Cell Apoptosis in Neurosyphilis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.749171

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2021.749171

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Long non-coding RNAs are involved in many infectious diseases. Our previous studies showed that <italic>lncRNA-ENST00000421645</italic> expression is increased in T lymphocytes of neurosyphilis patients compared to healthy controls. However, whether <italic>lncRNA-ENST00000421645</italic> has biological functions remains unclear. The current study was undertaken to understand the mechanism of <italic>lncRNA-ENST00000421645</italic> in T lymphocyte function in neurosyphilis patients. The <italic>lncRNA-ENST00000421645</italic> pull-down assay showed that <italic>lncRNA-ENST00000421645</italic> acted on the acetylase NAT10. The chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-PCR results showed that <italic>lncRNA-ENST00000421645</italic> promoted the acetylation of histone H3K27 adjacent to the Kank1 promoter, thereby promoting Kank1 protein expression. Kank1 promotes 14-3-3 protein expression, inhibits NF-kB activation, inhibits IFN-γ secretion by T lymphocytes, and promotes T lymphocyte apoptosis. Taken together, our findings suggest a novel mechanism that <italic>LncRNA-ENST00000421645</italic> upregulates <italic>Kank1</italic> to inhibit IFN-γ expression and promote T cell apoptosis in neurosyphilis.</p>