Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Highlight
  • Published:

Systemic sclerosis

Fibroblast A20 and its suppressor DREAM regulate fibrosis in SSc

Nature Reviews Rheumatology volume 19, page 1 (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

Although variants in TNFAIP3, which encodes the NF-κB regulatory protein A20, have been linked with susceptibility to systemic sclerosis (SSc), little has been revealed about the function and regulation of A20 in the context of SSc, particularly in stromal cells. New research indicates that A20 in fibroblasts inhibits fibrosis, whereas its negative transcriptional regulator called downstream regulatory element antagonist modulator (DREAM) promotes fibrosis, and that targeting the A20–DREAM regulatory network could represent a novel therapeutic approach in SSc.

The researchers found that A20 expression was reduced in skin and lung tissue, as well as in isolated skin and lung fibroblasts, from patients with SSc compared with healthy individuals. By contrast, expression of the A20 repressor DREAM was upregulated in these tissues and cells, and negatively correlated with A20 expression.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

Original article

  • Wang, W. et al. Fibroblast A20 governs fibrosis susceptibility and its repression by DREAM promotes fibrosis in multiple organs. Nat. Commun. 13, 6358 (2022)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nature Reviews Rheumatology http://www.nature.com/nrrheum/

    Sarah Onuora

Authors
  1. Sarah Onuora
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah Onuora.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Onuora, S. Fibroblast A20 and its suppressor DREAM regulate fibrosis in SSc. Nat Rev Rheumatol 19, 1 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-022-00886-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-022-00886-1

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing