REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Inflammation
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1623491
Macrophages: Emerging targets for ulcerative colitis
Provisionally accepted
- 1The First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Hunan, China
- 2The Fourth Hospital of Changsha, Changsha, China
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Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel (IBD) disease characterized by a complex pathogenesis and limited treatment options. Macrophages play a key role in the pathophysiology of UC by regulating inflammatory responses and tissue repair processes. Currently, there is no comprehensive summary of macrophage regulatory pathways in UC, either domestically or internationally. Objective: This review aims to systematically elucidate the role of macrophages in UC and their specific regulatory mechanisms, and to identify potential therapeutic strategies and future research directions. Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted, integrating recent advances from global studies to explore macrophage-related pathways and functional alterations in UC. Special attention was given to studies investigating molecular mechanisms underlying macrophage polarization and function. Results: Evidence indicates that macrophage dysfunction is a central mechanism in the pathogenesis of UC. Major findings demonstrate that metabolic reprogramming serves as a fundamental pathway inducing phenotypic and functional alterations in macrophages. Additional mechanisms mediating these changes include epigenetic modifications, chemokine-driven recruitment, microbial metabolite induction, autophagy, and apoptosis. Multiple drugs targeting macrophages have shown effectiveness in treating UC. Conclusion: Targeting macrophage-related pathways represents an effective therapeutic approach for UC. This review provides a theoretical foundation for developing precision treatments focused on macrophage modulation and highlights important new avenues for future research.
Keywords: Ulcerative colitis (uc), macrophage, immune, Inflammation, Treatment
Received: 06 May 2025; Accepted: 27 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Qin, Lin, Zhou, Xu and Zhu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Sainan Zhou, The First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Hunan, China
Yin Xu, The First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Hunan, China
Ying Zhu, The First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Hunan, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.