The critical role of the ZBP1-NINJ1 axis and IRF1/IRF9 in ethanol-induced cell death, PANoptosis, and alcohol-associated liver disease

Innate immunity provides the critical first line of defense against infection and sterile triggers. Cell death is a key component of the innate immune response to clear pathogens, but excessive or aberrant cell death can induce inflammation, cytokine storm, and pathology, making it a central molecular mechanism in inflammatory diseases. Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is one such inflammatory disease, but the specific innate immune mechanisms driving pathology in this context remain unclear. Here, by leveraging RNAseq and tissue expression in clinical samples, we identified increased expression of the innate immune sensor Z-DNA binding protein (ZBP1) in patients with ALD. We discovered that ZBP1 expression correlated with ALD progression in patients, and that ethanol induced ZBP1-dependent lytic cell death, PANoptosis, in immune (macrophages, monocytes, Kupffer cells) and non-immune cells (hepatocytes). Mechanistically, the interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) IRF9 and IRF1 upregulated ZBP1 expression, allowing ZBP1 to sense Z-NAs through its Z2 domain and drive PANoptosis signaling, cell membrane rupture through NINJ1, and DAMP release. Furthermore, the expressions of ZBP1 and NINJ1 were upregulated in both liver and serum samples from patients with ALD. In mouse models of chronic and acute ALD, ZBP1-deficient mice were significantly protected from disease pathology and liver damage. Overall, our findings establish the critical role of the ZBP1-NINJ1 axis regulated by IRFs in driving inflammatory cell death, PANoptosis, in liver cells, suggesting that targeting these molecules will have therapeutic potential in ALD and other inflammatory conditions.