Evidence mapPaperPMID 38727640Full record

ArticleAllergy2025

Meteorin-like protein/METRNL/Interleukin-41 ameliorates atopic dermatitis-like inflammation.

Danqi Huang, Xiuting Liu, Xun Gao, Chun Kit Choi, Giovanni Giglio, Luay Farah, Ting-Fan Leung, Katie Ching-Yau Wong, Lea Ling-Yu Kan, Jeffrey Wing-Heung Chong and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Allergy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Metrnl in health and disease: tissue-specific actions and signaling networks.Apoptosis : an international journal on programmed cell death · 2026
    Review
  3. Review
  4. Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Danqi HuangDepartment of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Xiuting LiuDepartment of Dermatology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Xun GaoDepartment of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Chun Kit ChoiDepartment of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Giovanni GiglioBridge Institute of Experimental Tumor Therapy, West German Cancer Center, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0349-3756
Luay FarahBridge Institute of Experimental Tumor Therapy, West German Cancer Center, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
Ting-Fan LeungDepartment of Paediatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6469-1926
Katie Ching-Yau WongDepartment of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Lea Ling-Yu KanInstitute of Chinese Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Research on Bioactivities and Clinical Applications of Medicinal Plants, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Jeffrey Wing-Heung ChongDepartment of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Qing-Jun MengWelcome Centre for Cell Matrix Research, Division of Cell Matrix Biology and Regenerative Medicine, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Jinyue LiaoDepartment of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Phyllis Fung-Yi CheungBridge Institute of Experimental Tumor Therapy, West German Cancer Center, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0075-5679
Chun-Kwok WongDepartment of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5637-8331

Funding

Chinese University of Hong KongInnovation and Technology CommissionJiangsu Province Basic Research Special Fund (Natural Science Foundation), Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology, ChinaNational Natural Science Foundation of China
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMeteorin-like protein (METRNL)/Interleukin-41 (IL-41) is a novel immune-secreted cytokine/myokine involved in several inflammatory diseases. However, how METRNL exerts its regulatory properties on skin inflammation remains elusive. This study aims to elucidate the functionality and regulatory mechanism of METRNL in atopic dermatitis (AD).

methodsMETRNL levels were determined in skin and serum samples from patients with AD and subsequently verified in the vitamin D3 analogue MC903-induced AD-like mice model. The cellular target of METRNL activity was identified by multiplex immunostaining, single-cell RNA-seq and RNA-seq.

resultsMETRNL was significantly upregulated in lesions and serum of patients with dermatitis compared to healthy controls (p <.05). Following repeated MC903 exposure, AD model mice displayed elevated levels of METRNL in both ears and serum. Administration of recombinant murine METRNL protein (rmMETRNL) ameliorated allergic skin inflammation and hallmarks of AD in mice, whereas blocking of METRNL signaling led to the opposite. METRNL enhanced β-Catenin activation, limited the expression of Th2-related molecules that attract the accumulation of Arginase-1 (Arg1)

conclusionsMETRNL can bind to KIT receptor and subsequently alleviate the allergic inflammation of AD by inhibiting the expansion of immune cells, and downregulating inflammatory gene expression by regulating the level of active WNT pathway molecule β-Catenin.

Indexed as

Dermatitis, AtopicInflammationInterleukinsAnimalsDisease Models, AnimalFemaleHumansMaleMiceSignal TransductionSkinInterleukinsatopic dermatitiscytokinesMeteorin‐like protein (METRNL)skin inflammationWNT signaling pathways

Identifiers

PMID38727640
PMCPMC11804313

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.