Novel mitophagy inducer TJ0113 alleviates pulmonary inflammation during acute lung injury

IntroductionAcute lung injury (ALI) is a severe respiratory disease with limited effective therapeutic options. Recent studies have highlighted mitochondrial damage as a crucial factor in the progression of ALI. Mitophagy, which facilitates the removal of damaged mitochondria, has been shown to redu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhengyuan Liu, Danruo Fang, Kaijun Chen, Lingling Dong, Huaqiong Huang, Zhihua Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Pharmacology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2025.1590458/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849240665914867712
author Zhengyuan Liu
Danruo Fang
Kaijun Chen
Lingling Dong
Huaqiong Huang
Zhihua Chen
author_facet Zhengyuan Liu
Danruo Fang
Kaijun Chen
Lingling Dong
Huaqiong Huang
Zhihua Chen
author_sort Zhengyuan Liu
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionAcute lung injury (ALI) is a severe respiratory disease with limited effective therapeutic options. Recent studies have highlighted mitochondrial damage as a crucial factor in the progression of ALI. Mitophagy, which facilitates the removal of damaged mitochondria, has been shown to reduce inflammation. Our collaborators constructed a small molecule mitophagy inducer, TJ0113. TJ0113 has been approved to initiate a Phase I clinical trial for Alport syndrome and a Phase II trial for Parkinson's disease in China. Therefore, we explored the potential of TJ0113 as a novel therapeutic for ALI.MethodsThe mitophagy-inducing potential of TJ0113 was assessed in HEK293T cells. The anti-inflammatory effects of TJ0113 were further evaluated in vivo using a mouse model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI and in vitro using LPS-stimulated bone-marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs).ResultsTJ0113 selectively induced mitophagy in damaged mitochondria. Furthermore, the PINK1–Parkin pathway was identified as a specific mitophagy pathway induced by TJ0113. In LPS-induced ALI mouse model, intraperitoneal injection of TJ0113 significantly reduced lung inflammation and mortality. In vitro, TJ0113 significantly inhibited the expression of LPS-induced inflammatory cytokines in BMDMs. Finally, we found that TJ0113 inhibited LPS-induced inflammation by inducing mitophagy and inhibiting nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and inflammasome activation.ConclusionTJ0113 alleviates LPS-induced inflammation by inducing mitophagy and inhibiting NF-κB and inflammasome activation. Its selective action on damaged mitochondria suggests minimal side effects, positioning TJ0113 as a promising therapeutic candidate for ALI.
format Article
id doaj-art-c96563ddfe7a489d8fadd001b6344a3d
institution Kabale University
issn 1663-9812
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Pharmacology
spelling doaj-art-c96563ddfe7a489d8fadd001b6344a3d2025-08-20T04:00:28ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Pharmacology1663-98122025-07-011610.3389/fphar.2025.15904581590458Novel mitophagy inducer TJ0113 alleviates pulmonary inflammation during acute lung injuryZhengyuan LiuDanruo FangKaijun ChenLingling DongHuaqiong HuangZhihua ChenIntroductionAcute lung injury (ALI) is a severe respiratory disease with limited effective therapeutic options. Recent studies have highlighted mitochondrial damage as a crucial factor in the progression of ALI. Mitophagy, which facilitates the removal of damaged mitochondria, has been shown to reduce inflammation. Our collaborators constructed a small molecule mitophagy inducer, TJ0113. TJ0113 has been approved to initiate a Phase I clinical trial for Alport syndrome and a Phase II trial for Parkinson's disease in China. Therefore, we explored the potential of TJ0113 as a novel therapeutic for ALI.MethodsThe mitophagy-inducing potential of TJ0113 was assessed in HEK293T cells. The anti-inflammatory effects of TJ0113 were further evaluated in vivo using a mouse model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI and in vitro using LPS-stimulated bone-marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs).ResultsTJ0113 selectively induced mitophagy in damaged mitochondria. Furthermore, the PINK1–Parkin pathway was identified as a specific mitophagy pathway induced by TJ0113. In LPS-induced ALI mouse model, intraperitoneal injection of TJ0113 significantly reduced lung inflammation and mortality. In vitro, TJ0113 significantly inhibited the expression of LPS-induced inflammatory cytokines in BMDMs. Finally, we found that TJ0113 inhibited LPS-induced inflammation by inducing mitophagy and inhibiting nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and inflammasome activation.ConclusionTJ0113 alleviates LPS-induced inflammation by inducing mitophagy and inhibiting NF-κB and inflammasome activation. Its selective action on damaged mitochondria suggests minimal side effects, positioning TJ0113 as a promising therapeutic candidate for ALI.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2025.1590458/fullacute lung injurymitophagy inducerTJ0113NF-κBNLRP3 inflammasome
spellingShingle Zhengyuan Liu
Danruo Fang
Kaijun Chen
Lingling Dong
Huaqiong Huang
Zhihua Chen
Novel mitophagy inducer TJ0113 alleviates pulmonary inflammation during acute lung injury
Frontiers in Pharmacology
acute lung injury
mitophagy inducer
TJ0113
NF-κB
NLRP3 inflammasome
title Novel mitophagy inducer TJ0113 alleviates pulmonary inflammation during acute lung injury
title_full Novel mitophagy inducer TJ0113 alleviates pulmonary inflammation during acute lung injury
title_fullStr Novel mitophagy inducer TJ0113 alleviates pulmonary inflammation during acute lung injury
title_full_unstemmed Novel mitophagy inducer TJ0113 alleviates pulmonary inflammation during acute lung injury
title_short Novel mitophagy inducer TJ0113 alleviates pulmonary inflammation during acute lung injury
title_sort novel mitophagy inducer tj0113 alleviates pulmonary inflammation during acute lung injury
topic acute lung injury
mitophagy inducer
TJ0113
NF-κB
NLRP3 inflammasome
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2025.1590458/full
work_keys_str_mv AT zhengyuanliu novelmitophagyinducertj0113alleviatespulmonaryinflammationduringacutelunginjury
AT danruofang novelmitophagyinducertj0113alleviatespulmonaryinflammationduringacutelunginjury
AT kaijunchen novelmitophagyinducertj0113alleviatespulmonaryinflammationduringacutelunginjury
AT linglingdong novelmitophagyinducertj0113alleviatespulmonaryinflammationduringacutelunginjury
AT huaqionghuang novelmitophagyinducertj0113alleviatespulmonaryinflammationduringacutelunginjury
AT zhihuachen novelmitophagyinducertj0113alleviatespulmonaryinflammationduringacutelunginjury