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.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Metallobiology

Capturing copper to inhibit inflammation

Nature Chemical Biology volume 19, pages 937–939 (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

A study has now shown that copper ions can drive inflammation via a mitochondrial signaling pathway that regulates epigenetic states of immune cells. This pathway could offer a new route for treating inflammatory diseases.

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

Fig. 1: Endocytosis of copper-bound hyaluronates via CD44 selectively enhances mitochondrial NAD+ production and facilitates an activated macrophage epigenetic cell state.

References

  1. Furman, D. et al. Nat. Med. 25, 1822–1832 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Ge, E. J. et al. Nat. Rev. Cancer 22, 102–113 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Hodgkinson, V. & Petris, M. J. J. Biol. Chem. 287, 13549–13555 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Solier, S. et al. Nature 617, 386–394 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Natoli, G., Pileri, F., Gualdrini, F. & Ghisletti, S. EMBO Rep. 22, e53251 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Chang, C. J. Nat. Chem. Biol. 11, 744–747 (2015).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Tsang, T., Davis, C. I. & Brady, D. C. Curr. Biol. 31, R421–R427 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Campbell, S. L. & Wellen, K. E. Mol. Cell 71, 398–408 (2018).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Ramchandani, D. et al. Nat. Commun. 12, 7311 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Tsvetkov, P. et al. Science 375, 1254–1261 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Cotruvo, J. A. Jr, Aron, A. T., Ramos-Torres, K. M. & Chang, C. J. Chem. Soc. Rev. 44, 4400–4414 (2015).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Ackerman, C. M., Lee, S. & Chang, C. J. Anal. Chem. 89, 22–41 (2017).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Pezacki, A. T. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 119, e2202736119 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Pham, V. N. & Chang, C. J. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202213644 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Christopher J. Chang

  2. Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Christopher J. Chang

  3. Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Donita C. Brady

  4. Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Donita C. Brady

Authors
  1. Christopher J. Chang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Donita C. Brady
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Christopher J. Chang or Donita C. Brady.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

D.C.B. holds ownership in Merlon Inc. and Elaeis Therapeutics, and is an inventor on patent application US 20150017261 entitled “Methods of treating and preventing cancer by disrupting the binding of copper in the MAP kinase pathway.” C.J.C. declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chang, C.J., Brady, D.C. Capturing copper to inhibit inflammation. Nat Chem Biol 19, 937–939 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-023-01383-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-023-01383-6

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