ArticlePediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany)2021
Steroid treatment promotes an M2 anti-inflammatory macrophage phenotype in childhood lupus nephritis.
Article in Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Childhood-Onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Research over the Past Decade in Japan.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Innate immune cells in acute and chronic kidney disease.Nature reviews. Nephrology · 2025Review
- Immune cell aberrations in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: navigating the targeted therapies toward precision management.Cellular & molecular biology letters · 2025Review
- Potential immune involvement in cataract: from mechanisms to future scope of therapies.International journal of ophthalmology · 2025Review
- IL-19 suppresses Hippo signaling via modulating YAP1 phosphorylation in osteoarthritis.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Mizoribine halts kidney fibrosis in childhood IgA nephropathy: association with modulation of M2-type macrophages.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2023Article
- Ebola virus-like particles reprogram cellular metabolism.Journal of molecular medicine (Berlin, Germany) · 2023Article
- Mechanisms of Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha Inhibitor-Induced Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Article
- Potential Small Molecules for Therapy of Lupus Nephritis Based on Genetic Effect and Immune Infiltration.BioMed research international · 2022Article
- Azithromycin alleviates systemic lupus erythematosus via the promotion of M2 polarisation in lupus mice.Cell death discovery · 2021Article
- Macrophage Polarization and Plasticity in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Review
- Differentially Expressed Gene Pathways in the Conjunctiva of Sjögren Syndrome Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundM1-type proinflammatory macrophages (MΦ) promote glomerular injury in lupus nephritis (LN). However, whether this phenotype is altered by steroid therapy is unclear. Therefore, we investigated the effect of steroid treatment on MΦ phenotype in LN.
methodsPatients with LN (7-18 years old) were divided into 2 groups: those with no treatment (N) before biopsy (n = 17) and those who underwent steroid (S) treatment (3-73 days) before biopsy (n = 15). MΦ number and phenotype were assessed by immunofluorescence. In vitro studies used monocyte-derived MΦ from healthy volunteers.
resultsAge at biopsy, urine findings, and kidney function (eGFR) were comparable between the two groups. Biopsies in N group had higher levels of active lesions such as endocapillary hypercellularity, necrosis, and cellular crescent formation (p < 0.05). The total CD68+ MΦ infiltrate was comparable between N and S groups. However, N group had more M1 MΦ (CD68+ CD86+ cells) (p < 0.05) and fewer M2 MΦ (CD68+ CD163+ cells) (p < 0.05), giving a 6-fold increase in the M2/M1 ratio in S vs. N groups. Dexamethasone treatment of cultured MΦ induced upregulation of CD163 expression, increased production of anti-inflammatory (IL-10, IL-19) and profibrotic factors (FGF-22, PDGF), and upregulated the scavenger receptor, stabilin-1. Upregulation of stabilin-1 in CD163+ M2 MΦ was confirmed in biopsies from S group.
conclusionsInitial steroid treatment induces MΦ phenotypic change from proinflammatory M1 to anti-inflammatory or profibrotic M2 in LN with acute/active lesions. Although steroid treatment is effective for resolution of M1-medated injury, promotion of fibrotic lesions via M2 MΦ is a potential downside of steroid single therapy in LN.
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