Evidence mapPaperPMID 41394841Full record

ReviewFrontiers in immunology2025

Macrophage-tregs crosstalk: the "hub" of the immune network in MASLD.

Huihui Zhao, Weili Wang, Pengchao Zhu, Zhaohong Shi

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in immunology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Liver Macrophages in the Pathogenesis of Viral Hepatitis.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026
    Review
  2. 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

4 authors.

Huihui ZhaoCollege of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China.
Weili WangFirst Clinical Medical College, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, China.
Pengchao ZhuRehabilitation Department, Hubei Provincial Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Wuhan, China.
Zhaohong ShiCollege of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a globally prevalent metabolic disorder with a high average worldwide prevalence. It occurs more frequently in men than in women, and its incidence increases with age. MASLD can progressively advance to liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and even hepatocellular carcinoma, while also elevating the risk of cardiovascular, renal, and other systemic diseases. Its pathological progression is closely associated with dysregulation of the hepatic immune microenvironment, in which aberrant crosstalk between Macrophages (Mø) and regulatory T cells (Tregs) serves as a central driving mechanism. Under physiological conditions, liver-resident Macrophages (Kupffer cells, KCs) and Tregs maintain immune homeostasis through a "complementary origin-spatial co-localization-molecular crosstalk" mechanism. In MASLD, KCs numbers decline while monocyte-derived Macrophages (MDMs) are abnormally recruited, giving rise to Macrophages with distinct phenotypes. Tregs influence the classical phenotypic differentiation of Macrophages. However, dynamic alterations in Treg abundance exhibit a "double-edged sword" effect. The disrupted crosstalk between KCs and Tregs involves dysregulated chemokine networks [e.g., c-x-c motif chemokine ligand 9 (CXCL9), c-c motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2)], cytokine interactions [e.g., interleukin-1β (IL-1β), transforming growth factor- Beta (TGF-β)], and signaling pathways such as beta-catenin (β-catenin) and notch homolog 1 (Notch1). Collectively, these alterations drive disease progression from steatosis to hepatitis and fibrosis. This review systematically summarizes the physiological mechanisms underlying Macrophages -Tregs crosstalk, its pathological dysregulation in MASLD, and the associated molecular networks, while proposing targeted therapeutic strategies based on disease stage.

Indexed as

Cell CommunicationFatty LiverMacrophagesT-Lymphocytes, RegulatoryAnimalsHumansKupffer CellsSignal TransductioncrosstalkKupffer cellsmacrophageMASLDregulatory T cells

Identifiers

PMID41394841
PMCPMC12695584

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.