circ_0000554 promotes macrophage M2 polarization mediated by glycolytic reprogramming and aggravates COPD injury

Abstract

Environmental pollution, such as fine particulate matter (PM2.5), poses a serious threat to people's health. PM_2.5 can induce lung injury, and the damage to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is more intense. Nevertheless, the regulatory pathways remain unclear, particularly regarding the inflammatory mechanism. Increasing evidence shows that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important functions in COPD, and dysregulation of macrophage polarization is closely interrelated with the pathogenesis of COPD. In the paper, we screened the GEO database (GSE150251) and found that hsa_circ_0000554 was significantly elevated in COPD patients following exposure to PM_2.5. We further detected circ_0000554 expression in the blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of COPD patients after PM_2.5 exposure. To explore the regulatory mechanism of circ_0000554 in COPD injury after PM_2.5 exposure, we first verified it in vitro. We first treated alveolar macrophages MH-S with IL-4 and added PM_2.5 treatment to construct an in vitro model. Then, through flow cytometry and RT-qPCR experiments, it was found that PM_2.5 induced alveolar macrophages to polarize towards the M2 type. It was also found that M2 macrophages play a crucial role in the inflammatory damage associated with COPD. Therefore, we next further elucidated how circ_0000554 regulates M2 polarization of alveolar macrophages. Through bioinformatics prediction and molecular biology assays, we illuminated the targeted regulatory effect of circ_0000554 on the miR-548b-3p-Solute Carrier Family 2 Member 3 (SLC2A3) signaling axis. Mechanistically, we jointly elucidated at the cellular and animal levels that PM_2.5 promotes M2-type polarization induced by metabolic reprogramming of macrophages by activating circ_0000554-mediated SLC2A3 expression, thereby ultimately aggravating COPD injury.