Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41870779›Full record

ArticleInflammation2026

The CXCR2-XBP1-NF-κB Axis Drives Inflammatory Amplification and Tissue Damage in Acute Lung Injury.

Zhiyi Liu, Qiong Wu, Xing Liu, Tiantian Ke, Zhisu Yan, Lei Xiong, Fang Tang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Inflammation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

7 authors.

Zhiyi LiuDepartment of Anesthesiology and Operative Medicine, Medical Center of Anesthesiology and Pain, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, China.
Qiong WuDepartment of Anesthesiology and Operative Medicine, Medical Center of Anesthesiology and Pain, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, China.
Xing LiuDepartment of Anesthesiology and Operative Medicine, Medical Center of Anesthesiology and Pain, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, China.
Tiantian KeDepartment of Anesthesiology and Operative Medicine, Medical Center of Anesthesiology and Pain, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, China.
Zhisu YanDepartment of Anesthesiology and Operative Medicine, Medical Center of Anesthesiology and Pain, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, China.
Lei XiongDepartment of Anesthesiology and Operative Medicine, Medical Center of Anesthesiology and Pain, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, China.
Fang TangDepartment of Anesthesiology and Operative Medicine, Medical Center of Anesthesiology and Pain, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, China. ndyfy06741@ncu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-5076-3526

Funding

Jiangxi Provincial Natural Science Foundation 20232BAB206006Science and Technology Research Project of Jiangxi Education Department GJJ2200138
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a critical pulmonary disorder marked by severe inflammation, alveolar-capillary barrier disruption, and respiratory failure. Macrophage polarization is central to its pathogenesis, yet the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain incompletely understood. This study aimed to identify and functionally characterize key drivers of pro-inflammatory macrophage activation in ALI. We utilized an integrative multi-platform approach. First, single-cell RNA sequencing of lung tissues from LPS-induced ALI mice was analyzed to map immune cell heterogeneity. Bone marrow-derived macrophages were then used for in vitro mechanistic studies, including Cxcr2 overexpression and Xbp1 knockdown, followed by transcriptomic and signaling analyses. NF-κB activation was assessed through luciferase reporter assays and phospho-specific immunoblotting. Finally, adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated genetic interventions—overexpressing Cxcr2 or silencing Xbp1—were delivered intratracheally in mice prior to LPS challenge, with outcomes evaluated by histopathology, cytokine measurement, and molecular profiling. Our analysis revealed a dominant population of Cxcr2-expressing macrophages that expands during ALI and exhibits a hyper-inflammatory signature. Cxcr2 overexpression amplified M1 polarization via XBP1-mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress, leading to sustained NF-κB activation and cytokine hypersecretion. Pharmacological CXCR2 inhibition attenuated lung injury and reduced M1 macrophages in vivo. Conversely, AAV-driven Cxcr2 overexpression exacerbated inflammation, whereas Xbp1 knockdown significantly mitigated pathological features. These results establish the CXCR2–XBP1 signaling axis as a critical regulator of pathological macrophage polarization in ALI, acting through ER stress and NF-κB hyperactivation. Our study highlights CXCR2 and XBP1 as potential therapeutic targets for modulating macrophage-driven immunopathology.

Indexed as

Acute Lung InjuryNF-kappa BReceptors, Interleukin-8BX-Box Binding Protein 1AnimalsHumansInflammationLipopolysaccharidesMacrophagesMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLSignal TransductionCxcr2 protein, mouseLipopolysaccharidesNF-kappa BReceptors, Interleukin-8BX-Box Binding Protein 1Xbp1 protein, mouseAcute lung injuryCXCR2InflammationMacrophage polarizationXBP1/NF-κB signaling axis

Identifiers

PMID41870779
PMCPMC13050771

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.