Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39869489›Full record

ArticleAdvanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)2025

METTL3 Potentiates M2 Macrophage-Driven MMT to Aggravate Renal Allograft Fibrosis via the TGF-β1/Smad3 Pathway.

Qinfan Yao, Xiaoxiao Zheng, Xinyi Zhang, Yucheng Wang, Qin Zhou, Junhao Lv, Li Zheng, Jiahua Lan, Wei Chen, Jianghua Chen and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
25citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

25 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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  8. Epitranscriptomic silencing of the ZC3H13/mJournal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR · 2026
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
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  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. The emerging role of mFrontiers in immunology · 2026
    Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Qinfan YaoKidney Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310003, China.
Xiaoxiao ZhengCancer Institute of lntegrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy Combining Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Disease-Syndrome Integrated Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhejiang Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310012, China.
Xinyi ZhangKidney Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310003, China.
Yucheng WangKidney Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310003, China.
Qin ZhouKidney Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310003, China.
Junhao LvKidney Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310003, China.
Li ZhengCancer Institute of lntegrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy Combining Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Disease-Syndrome Integrated Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhejiang Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310012, China.
Jiahua LanCancer Institute of lntegrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy Combining Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Disease-Syndrome Integrated Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhejiang Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310012, China.
Wei ChenDepartment of General Surgery, Sir Run-Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310016, China.
Jianghua ChenKidney Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310003, China.
Dajin ChenKidney Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310003, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2822-1182

Funding

Key Research and Development Program of Science and Technology Department of Zhejiang Province 2023C04011Key Research and Development Project of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Science and Technology Bureau 2023AB018-03National Natural Science Foundation of China 82360157National Natural Science Foundation of China U21A20350
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

METTL3, a key enzyme in N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification, plays a crucial role in the progression of renal fibrosis, particularly in chronic active renal allograft rejection (CAR). This study explored the mechanisms by which METTL3 promotes renal allograft fibrosis, focusing on its role in the macrophage-to-myofibroblast transition (MMT). Using a comprehensive experimental approach, including TGF-β1-induced MMT cell models, METTL3 conditional knockout (METTL3 KO) mice, and renal biopsy samples from patients with CAR, the study investigates the involvement of METTL3/Smad3 axis in driving MMT and renal fibrosis during the episodes of CAR. We found that elevated m6A modification and METTL3 levels strongly correlated with enhanced MMT and increased fibrotic severity. METTL3 knockout (METTL3 KO) significantly increased the m6A modification of Smad3, decreased Smad3 expression, and inhibited M2-driven MMT. Smad3 knockdown with siRNA (siSmad3) further inhibited M2-driven MMT, while Smad3 overexpression rescued the inhibitory effects of METTL3 silencing, restoring M2-driven MMT and fibrotic tissue damage. Additionally, the METTL3 inhibitor STM2457 effectively reversed M2-driven MMT and alleviated fibrotic tissue damage in CAR. These findings highlight that METTL3 enhances M2-driven MMT in renal fibrosis during CAR by promoting the TGF-β1/Smad3 axis, suggesting that METTL3 is a promising therapeutic target for mitigating renal fibrosis in CAR.

Indexed as

Graft RejectionKidney TransplantationMacrophagesMethyltransferasesSmad3 ProteinTransforming Growth Factor beta1AllograftsAnimalsFibrosisHumansKidneyMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMice, KnockoutMyofibroblastsMethyltransferasesMETTL3 protein, humanMettl3 protein, mouseSmad3 ProteinSmad3 protein, mouseTransforming Growth Factor beta1chronic allograft rejectionmacrophage‐myofibroblast transitionMETTL3renal fibrosisTGF‐β1/Smad3

Identifiers

PMID39869489
PMCPMC11923867

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Registered trials

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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.