ArticleNature communications2026
Clec3b⁺ fibroblasts are the primary effectors of portal fibrosis following activation via a KLF4/periostin axis.
Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Tetranectin: Molecular Mechanisms, Biological Functions and Clinical Implications.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- The hepatic portal area in homeostasis and disease.Clinical and molecular hepatology · 2026Article
- Combined Targeted Drug Delivery Systems for Mineral Metabolism Disorders in Chronic Kidney Disease: A Narrative Review.International journal of nanomedicine · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
17 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Portal fibrosis, a determinant of progression in virtually all chronic liver diseases, prototypically develops in biliary diseases. Using single-cell RNA sequencing and genetic cell fate tracing in mouse models, we identify Clec3b⁺ fibroblasts as a distinct subset of portal fibroblasts, which rapidly expand after biliary injury and give rise to the bulk of portal myofibroblasts. Mechanistic analyses reveal that Clec3b⁺ portal fibroblasts activation is governed by a Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4)/periostin (POSTN) axis, i.e., KLF4 directly binds to the Postn promoter and represses its transcription in quiescent fibroblasts, whereas after injury, KLF4 is downregulated, which allows POSTN, acting via αvβ5 integrin, to drive portal fibroblast activation and portal fibrosis. Our findings identify Clec3b
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
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.