ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Alloimmunity and Transplantation
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1597779
This article is part of the Research TopicAntibody-Mediated Rejection After Solid Organ TransplantationView all 13 articles
The novel role of Yin Yang 1 in acute rejection of liver allografts through activation of dendritic cells
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Pathology, Mengchao Hepatobiliary Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
- 2School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
- 3Shengli Clinical Medical College, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
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Acute rejection is a major cause of liver transplant dysfunction and remains the most significant contributor to mortality following liver transplantation. Yin Yang 1 (YY1), a widely expressed zinc-finger DNA-binding transcription factor, has an undefined role in the acute rejection of liver allografts. In this study, we investigated the effects and mechanisms of YY1 in acute rejection using an MHC Class II mismatched rat liver transplantation model. On post-transplantation days 5 and 10, allografts exhibited elevated YY1 expression within infiltrating inflammatory cells surrounding the central vein of recipient livers, coinciding with increased serum transaminase levels and inflammatory cytokines. In vitro analysis revealed that dendritic cells (DCs) overexpressing YY1 exhibited higher expression levels of CD80, CD86, and MHC II compared to control groups. Additionally, YY1-overexpressed DCs upregulated the expression of proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6, thereby promoting enhanced intracellular production of IL-17 and IFN-γ by naïve CD4⁺ T cells. These findings suggest that YY1 may trigger DC activation and contribute to the pathogenesis of acute rejection by polarizing naïve T cells toward an inflammatory phenotype. Thus, YY1 represents a potential therapeutic target to prevent acute rejection following liver transplantation.
Keywords: Yin yang 1, acute rejection, Dendritic Cells, Liver Transplantation, inflammatory pathways
Received: 21 Mar 2025; Accepted: 28 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Wang, Hong, Wang, He and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Lihong Chen, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
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