ArticleScience advances2024
Acute contact with profibrotic macrophages mechanically activates fibroblasts via αvβ3 integrin-mediated engagement of Piezo1.
Article in Science advances, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers.
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Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed.
- Reprogramming macrophage mechanosensation via TRPV4 modulating mechano-immunotherapy controls fibrotic encapsulation of biomaterial implants.Bioactive materials · 2026Article
- Integrin αVβ3 as a context‑dependent regulator of bone homeostasis: Insights into osteoporosis pathogenesis and therapeutic targeting (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2026Review
- Dynamic flow-driven in vitro skin model reveals mechanosensitive remodeling pathways.Human cell · 2026Article
- Cellular crosstalk of fibroblast-myofibroblast transition in intestinal homeostasis and disease.Biomarker research · 2026Review
- Macrophage-Fibroblast Crosstalk in Kidney Injury: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Immune-stromal interactions at the crossroads of tissue injury, repair, and tumor progression.Med (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Review
- Piezo1 channel: structure, mechanogating mechanism, functions, diseases and therapeutic strategy.Molecular biomedicine · 2026Review
- Three-dimensional printed PCL/nHA scaffolds promote soft tissue functional fibrosis to repair chest wall defect via Piezo1/CaBioactive materials · 2026Article
- Fibroblast response to burn injury in larval zebrafish mirrors developmental maturation and is inhibited by infiltrating neutrophils.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2026Article
- Integrin-mediated mechanotransduction in the tumor microenvironment: macrophage-centered signaling mechanisms and immune remodeling.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- An Extravascular Synergistic Cocktail Therapeutic Strategy Based on Lanifibranor Loaded Self-Healing Bioelastomer for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Article
- Spatial and Single-Cell Mapping Reveals Valvular Interstitial Cell and Macrophage Sex Differences in Calcific Aortic Valve Disease.Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology · 2026Article
- NF-κB-Dependent Transcriptional Regulation of Piezo1 Mediates Bacterial Clearance on Infected Lung Stiffness.American journal of respiratory cell and molecular biology · 2026Article
- The extracellular matrix Piezo1 feedback loop drives renal fibrosis through compartment-specific mechanotransduction.International urology and nephrology · 2026Review
- Targeting myeloid cell-mediated fibrosis through FAK.Nature biomedical engineering · 2026Article
- Macrophage-Fibroblast Crosstalk Shapes Wound Repair Signaling In Vitro.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026Article
- The Piezo1-Ca2+-PI3k/Akt signaling axis as a context-dependent mechanotransduction node during skin wound healing.iScience · 2026Review
- Targeting Integrin β3 in Endothelial Cells Attenuates Cardiac Fibrosis Through the Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase IIα- cAMP-Responsive Element Binding Protein 1 Signaling Axis in Pressure Overload-Induced Heart Failure.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2026Article
- Review
- Structural immunity: immune cells as architects of tissue barriers.Nature reviews. Immunology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Fibrosis-excessive scarring after injury-causes >40% of disease-related deaths worldwide. In this misguided repair process, activated fibroblasts drive the destruction of organ architecture by accumulating and contracting extracellular matrix. The resulting stiff scar tissue, in turn, enhances fibroblast contraction-bearing the question of how this positive feedback loop begins. We show that direct contact with profibrotic but not proinflammatory macrophages triggers acute fibroblast contractions. The contractile response depends on αvβ3 integrin expression on macrophages and Piezo1 expression on fibroblasts. The touch of macrophages elevates fibroblast cytosolic calcium within seconds, followed by translocation of the transcription cofactors nuclear factor of activated T cells 1 and Yes-associated protein, which drive fibroblast activation within hours. Intriguingly, macrophages induce mechanical stress in fibroblasts on soft matrix that alone suppresses their spontaneous activation. We propose that acute contact with suitable macrophages mechanically kick-starts fibroblast activation in an otherwise nonpermissive soft environment. The molecular components mediating macrophage-fibroblast mechanotransduction are potential targets for antifibrosis strategies.
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