REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Inflammation
This article is part of the Research TopicRole of Immune Cells in Fibrotic DiseasesView all 3 articles
Novel Regulators of Hepatic Macrophages in Liver Fibrosis
Provisionally accepted
Xiangjun TangMeiwen Bai
Xianhong DuHong WangMeifang Liu
Xiaoyan FuHongxia ZhangShujuan Liang*
Liyuan Wang*- Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, China
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Liver fibrosis is a common pathological process of liver damage and subsequent inflammatory responses in various chronic liver diseases, leading to continuous abnormal changes of liver structure and function. Liver fibrosis can further progress to liver cirrhosis and even hepatocellular carcinoma. Unfortunately, there is currently no effective treatment available for liver fibrosis except for liver transplantation. Hepatic macrophages emerge as essential players during the development of liver fibrosis and regression. Understanding the mechanisms of hepatic macrophages in liver fibrosis and regression could identify new therapeutic targets to treat liver fibrosis. In this review, we aim to summarize the new discoveries regarding the specific molecular mechanisms underlying the progression of liver fibrosis in the past five years, with special focus on the monocyte recruitment and macrophage polarization or differentiation, as well as their roles in the disease progression.
Keywords: macrophage, liver fibrosis, monocyte recruitment, Macrophage polarization, Molecular mechanisms
Received: 15 Sep 2025; Accepted: 28 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Tang, Bai, Du, Wang, Liu, Fu, Zhang, Liang and Wang. 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:
Shujuan Liang
Liyuan Wang
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