Hepatocyte estrogen sulfotransferase inhibition protects female mice from concanavalin A–induced T cell–mediated hepatitis independent of estrogens

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a typical T cell–mediated chronic liver disease with a higher incidence in females. However, the molecular mechanism for the female predisposition is poorly understood. Estrogen sulfotransferase (Est) is a conjugating enzyme best known for its function in sulfonating and deactivating estrogens. The goal of this study is to investigate whether and how Est plays a role in the higher incidence of AIH in females. Concanavalin A (ConA) was used to induce T cell–mediated hepatitis in female mice. We first showed that Est was highly induced in the liver of ConA-treated mice. Systemic or hepatocyte-specific ablation of Est, or pharmacological inhibition of Est, protected female mice from ConA-induced hepatitis regardless of ovariectomy, suggesting the effect of Est inhibition was estrogen independent. In contrast, we found that hepatocyte-specific transgenic reconstitution of Est in the whole-body Est knockout (EstKO) mice abolished the protective phenotype. Upon the ConA challenge, EstKO mice exhibited a more robust inflammatory response with elevated production of proinflammatory cytokines and changed liver infiltration of immune cells. Mechanistically, we determined that ablation of Est led to the hepatic induction of lipocalin 2 (Lcn2), whereas ablation of Lcn2 abolished the protective phenotype of EstKO females. Our findings demonstrate that hepatocyte Est is required for the sensitivity of female mice to ConA-induced and T cell–mediated hepatitis in an estrogen-independent manner. Est ablation may have protected female mice from ConA-induced hepatitis by upregulating Lcn2. Pharmacological inhibition of Est might be a potential strategy for the treatment of AIH.