Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China.
Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China.
Front Immunol. 2023 Apr 17;14:1147710. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1147710. eCollection 2023.
Macrophages, as central components of innate immunity, feature significant heterogeneity. Numerus studies have revealed the pivotal roles of macrophages in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis induced by various factors. Hepatic macrophages function to trigger inflammation in response to injury. They induce liver fibrosis by activating hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), and then inflammation and fibrosis are alleviated by the degradation of the extracellular matrix and release of anti-inflammatory cytokines. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding endogenous RNA molecules that regulate gene expression through translation repression or mRNA degradation, have distinct roles in modulating macrophage activation, polarization, tissue infiltration, and inflammation regression. Considering the complex etiology and pathogenesis of liver diseases, the role and mechanism of miRNAs and macrophages in liver fibrosis need to be further clarified. We first summarized the origin, phenotypes and functions of hepatic macrophages, then clarified the role of miRNAs in the polarization of macrophages. Finally, we comprehensively discussed the role of miRNAs and macrophages in the pathogenesis of liver fibrotic disease. Understanding the mechanism of hepatic macrophage heterogeneity in various types of liver fibrosis and the role of miRNAs on macrophage polarization provides a useful reference for further research on miRNA-mediated macrophage polarization in liver fibrosis, and also contributes to the development of new therapies targeting miRNA and macrophage subsets for liver fibrosis.
巨噬细胞作为先天免疫的核心成分,具有显著的异质性。大量研究揭示了巨噬细胞在各种因素诱导的肝纤维化发病机制中的关键作用。肝巨噬细胞在损伤时触发炎症反应。它们通过激活肝星状细胞 (HSCs) 诱导肝纤维化,然后通过降解细胞外基质和释放抗炎细胞因子缓解炎症和纤维化。微小 RNA(miRNA)是一类通过翻译抑制或 mRNA 降解调节基因表达的小型非编码内源性 RNA 分子,在调节巨噬细胞激活、极化、组织浸润和炎症消退方面具有独特的作用。鉴于肝脏疾病的复杂病因和发病机制,miRNAs 和巨噬细胞在肝纤维化中的作用和机制需要进一步阐明。我们首先总结了肝巨噬细胞的起源、表型和功能,然后阐明了 miRNAs 在巨噬细胞极化中的作用。最后,我们全面讨论了 miRNAs 和巨噬细胞在肝纤维化发病机制中的作用。了解不同类型肝纤维化中肝巨噬细胞异质性的机制以及 miRNAs 对巨噬细胞极化的作用,为进一步研究 miRNA 介导的肝纤维化中巨噬细胞极化提供了有益的参考,也有助于针对肝纤维化的 miRNA 和巨噬细胞亚群开发新的治疗方法。
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