Cited by 237Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanismsinterferon and immune responsesUbiquitin and proteasome pathways

USP18 lack in microglia causes destructive interferonopathy of the mouse brain

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Goldmann, Tobias, Zeller, Nicolas, Raasch, Jenni, Kierdorf, Katrin, Frenzel, Kathrin, Ketscher, Lars, Basters, Anja, Staszewski, Ori +15 more·2015·The EMBO Journal

Abstract

Microglia are tissue macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS) that control tissue homeostasis. Microglia dysregulation is thought to be causal for a group of neuropsychiatric, neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases, called "microgliopathies". However, how the intracellular stimulation machinery in microglia is controlled is poorly understood. Here, we identified the ubiquitin-specific protease (Usp) 18 in white matter microglia that essentially contributes to microglial quiescence. We further found that microglial Usp18 negatively regulates the activation of Stat1 and concomitant induction of interferon-induced genes, thereby terminating IFN signaling. The Usp18-mediated control was independent from its catalytic activity but instead required the interaction with Ifnar2. Additionally, the absence of Ifnar1 restored microglial activation, indicating a tonic IFN signal which needs to be negatively controlled by Usp18 under non-diseased conditions. These results identify Usp18 as a critical negative regulator of microglia activation and demonstrate a protective role of Usp18 for microglia function by regulating the Ifnar pathway. The findings establish Usp18 as a new molecule preventing destructive microgliopathy.

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Crossref · 10.15252/embj.201490791

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  • Inappropriate upregulation of type I IFN signaling and ISG expression in the CNS has been linked to several interferonopathies including Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome and USP18-deficiency in humans.

    “Inappropriate upregulation of type I IFN signaling and ISG expression in the CNS have been linked to several interferonopathies including Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome and ubiquitin specific peptidase 18 (USP18)-deficiency in humans.”

    From Interferon signaling modulates Down syndrome-associated Alzheimer’s disease pathology in a mouse model (2025) · cites this paper as [81]

    The Introduction identifies Aicardi–Goutières syndrome as an IFN-associated disorder affecting infants’ brains, and the results link Usp18 loss to prolonged IFN signaling and ISG expression in mouse microglia. The paper does not establish USP18 deficiency as a human interferonopathy: it describes human patients with ISG15 deficiency and reduced USP18 protein stability, which is a different condition. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Usp18 inhibits microglial activation by specifically blocking IFN-induced transcription.

    “which inhibits microglial activation by specifically blocking IFN-induced transcription”

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Authors
Goldmann, T., Zeller, N., Raasch, J., Kierdorf, K., Frenzel, K., Ketscher, L., Basters, A., Staszewski, O., Brendecke, S. M., Spiess, A., Tay, T. L., Kreutz, C., Timmer, J., Mancini, G. M., Blank, T., Fritz, G., Biber, K., Lang, R., Malo, D., Merkler, D., Heikenwälder, M., Knobeloch, K., & Prinz, M.
Affiliations
  • University of Freiburg (DE)
  • Erasmus MC (NL)
  • University Medical Center Groningen (NL)
  • Universitätsklinikum Erlangen (DE)
  • McGill University (CA)
  • University of Geneva (CH)
  • Helmholtz Munich (DE)
Corresponding author
Prinz, Marco
Venue
The EMBO Journal
Published
2015-04-20
Volume
34
Issue
12
Pages
1612-1629
ISSN
  • 0261-4189 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2075
OpenAlex
W2097365950
Cited by
223
References
60
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 7
FWCI
10.33
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The EMBO Journal (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (publishedVersion)
  • Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) (publishedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
  • RePub (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • FreiDok plus (Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg) (submittedVersion)
  • mediaTUM – the media and publications repository of the Technical University Munich (Technical University Munich) (submittedVersion)
  • Site cant be reached (submittedVersion)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion)
  • PuSH - Publication Server of Helmholtz Zentrum München (submittedVersion)
  • RePub (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
  • Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • BMBF‐funded competence network of multiple sclerosis
  • DFG (SFB 992, FOR1336, ZE 894/1‐1, PR 577/8‐1, KN590/3‐2 (SPP1365), KN590/1‐3)
  • Fritz‐Thyssen Foundation
  • Sobek Foundation
  • Gemeinnützige Hertie Foundation
  • ERA‐Net NEURON initiative “NEURO‐IFN”
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CTP‐87520)
  • Swiss National Science Foundation (PP00P3_152928)
  • Klaus‐Tschira Foundation
  • Gebert‐Rüf Foundation
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › interferon and immune responses
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Ubiquitin and proteasome pathways
Keywords
USP18, microglia, interferon signaling, STAT1, IFNAR2, IFNAR1, deubiquitination, microglial activation, neuroinflammation, interferonopathies, anti-inflammatory regulation
MeSH terms
Animals, Brain, Cloning, Molecular, Histological Techniques, Interferons, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Models, Neurological, Endopeptidases, Blotting, Western, Signal Transduction, Microglia, DNA Primers, Mice, Knockout, Statistics, Nonparametric, Ubiquitin Thiolesterase, Microarray Analysis, Microscopy, Electron, Transmission, Mice, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

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