ArticleBrain, behavior, and immunity2019
Vagus nerve regulates the phagocytic and secretory activity of resident macrophages in the liver.
Article in Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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
38 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of perioperative autonomic nervous system imbalance on surgical outcomes: a systematic review.British journal of anaesthesia · 2025Pooled it
- Gut‑liver‑kidney axis: A systems biology framework for understanding and treating chronic kidney disease (Review).International journal of molecular medicine · 2026Review
- Hypothalamic Control of Liver Health and Disease: From Circuits to Pathophysiology and Therapies.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Activation of the Cerebrospinal Fluid-Contacting Nucleus Mitigates Systemic Inflammation Induced by Sepsis.Shock (Augusta, Ga.) · 2026Article
- Long-term vagus nerve stimulation synergized with rapamycin elicits neuroimmune modulation to prolong skin allograft survival.iScience · 2026Article
- Gastrointestinal axis in post-traumatic sepsis: from molecular mechanisms to translational perspectives.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS): a comprehensive review of mechanisms, clinical applications, and future directions.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Review
- Modified laparoscopic Toupet fundoplication with vagus nerve sparing via total left-side approach for hiatal hernia with gastroesophageal reflux disease: a pilot study.Translational gastroenterology and hepatology · 2026Article
- Mendelian Randomization in Conjunction with WGCNA Was Employed to Investigate the Potential Role of the Liver-Brain Axis in the Pathogenesis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Alzheimer's Disease.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Connection and communication between the nervous and immune systems.Nature reviews. Immunology · 2025Review
- Molecular and functional diversity of the autonomic nervous system.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2025Review
- Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) preventing postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD): two potential mechanisms in cognitive function.Molecular and cellular biochemistry · 2025Review
- Vagus Nerve Mediated Liver-Brain-Axis Is a Major Regulator of the Metabolic Landscape in the Liver.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- The role of hepatic sinusoidal microenvironment in NASH: pathogenesis, animal models, and therapeutic prospects.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Electroacupuncture Promotes Liver Regeneration by Activating DMV Acetylcholinergic Neurons-Vagus-Macrophage Axis in 70% Partial Hepatectomy of Mice.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Stress increases hepatic release of lipocalin 2 which contributes to anxiety-like behavior in mice.Nature communications · 2024Article
- The Sympathetic-Immune Milieu in Metabolic Health and Diseases: Insights from Pancreas, Liver, Intestine, and Adipose Tissues.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Review
- Efferocytosis in liver disease.JHEP reports : innovation in hepatology · 2024Review
- Mechanisms of Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Improving Motor Dysfunction After Stroke.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2024Review
- Advances in VNS efficiency and mechanisms of action on cognitive functions.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
20 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The gastrointestinal (GI) tract harbors commensal microorganisms as well as invasive bacteria, toxins and other pathogens and, therefore, plays a pivotal barrier and immunological role against pathogenic agents. The vagus nerve is an important regulator of the GI tract-associated immune system, having profound effects on inflammatory responses. Among GI tract organs, the liver is a key site of immune surveillance, as it has a large population of resident macrophages and receives the blood drained from the guts through the hepatic portal circulation. Although it is widely accepted that the hepatic tissue is a major target for vagus nerve fibers, the role of this neural circuit in liver immune functions is still poorly understood. Herein we used in vivo imaging techniques, including confocal microscopy and scintigraphy, to show that vagus nerve stimulation increases the phagocytosis activity by resident macrophages in the liver, even on the absence of an immune challenge. The activation of this neural circuit in a non-lethal model of sepsis optimized the removal of bacteria in the liver and resulted in the production of anti-inflammatory and pro-regenerative cytokines. Our findings provide new insights into the neural regulation of the immune system in the liver.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion 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 OpenQuestion graph.