Macrophage heterogeneity in organ fibrosis in the era of single-cell omics

The role and mechanism of macrophage-to-myofibroblast transition in fibrotic diseases

Fibrosis is a pathological process primarily characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM), which leads to disruption of tissue architecture and progressive loss of organ function, serving as a key pathological basis for various chronic diseases. Recent studies have revealed that, in addition to c...

Reconfiguring the macrophage-centric intercellular network in pulmonary fibrosis: Emerging perspectives and therapeutic opportunities.

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) encompasses a spectrum of progressive and irreversible interstitial lung diseases characterized by a notably poor prognosis. The principal pathological features of PF include recurrent injury to the alveolar epithelium, aberrant accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) components, and disrupti...

Fibrosis: Bridging fundamental mechanisms to precision medicine via advanced therapeutics.

Integrated single-cell and spatial transcriptomic analyses identify a unique subset of pro-fibrotic macrophage in kidney fibrosis.

INTRODUCTION Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a severe clinical syndrome associated with high morbidity and mortality, and it possesses high risk of progression to chronic kidney disease (CKD). Renal infiltration of inflammatory cells, particularly macrophages, plays a key role in driving the progression from AKI to CKD....

The impact of macrophage metabolism on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis development and treatment prospectives

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive fibrotic interstitial pneumonia of unknown etiology, in which macrophages serve as central orchestrators of the pathological microenvironment. During IPF progression, the alveolar macrophage pool undergoes a critical compositional shift: tissue-resident alve...

Mapping vascular plasticity during fibrogenesis identifies fibrosis-associated endothelial cells in early-stage liver disease.

Vascular plasticity is a crucial biological asset enabling our bodies to rapidly adapt to infections and acute inflammation. However, repeated insults during chronic disease can result in these vascular adaptations becoming irreversible, thereby driving disease progression and fibrosis. This study aimed to understand i...