REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Molecular Innate Immunity
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1650161
The Feasibility of Targeting Macrophage for Disease Treatment: Roles of CEBPD
Provisionally accepted
- 1Institute of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China
- 2Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
- 3Capital Medical University Affiliated Anzhen Hospital Cardiac Ultrasound Medical Center, Chaoyang, China
- 4Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China
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As ubiquitous innate immune cells, macrophages are crucial for tissue homeostasis and disease pathogenesis. Although our understanding of macrophage subsets and functions has advanced, no effective strategies are available for targeting macrophages to treat diseases in clinical settings due to their heterogeneity. Transcription factors that regulate macrophage function have received increasing attention. CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein delta (CEBPD), an inflammation-associated transcription factor characterized by low basal expression but rapid induction by stimuli, has emerged as a key regulator of macrophages. CEBPD governs diverse biological processes in macrophages through its target genes. Furthermore, macrophage CEBPD significantly contributes to various pathologies. Modulating CEBPD expression or activity in macrophages could regulate various molecular processes to improve disease progression and alleviate organ damage; therefore, novel CEBPD-based therapeutic methods for treating diseases have attracted attention. In this review, we describe the factors upstream and downstream of CEBPD in macrophages. We then summarize recent advances in the regulation of macrophage biological processes by CEBPD. Finally, we discuss the contribution of macrophage CEBPD to various diseases and highlight strategies for developing novel therapies to modulate macrophage function by targeting CEBPD.
Keywords: macrophage, CEBPD, polarization, Phagocytosis, Atherosclerosis, Osteoporosis
Received: 19 Jun 2025; Accepted: 25 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Fan, Lin, Zhou and Chen. 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:
Lexun Wang, Institute of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China
Tian Fan, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 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.