Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40257301›Full record

ArticleHepatology communications2025

Single-cell landscape of peripheral immune cells in MASLD/MASH.

Agnes Anna Steixner-Kumar, Diana Santacruz, Tobias Geiger, Werner Rust, Dennis Böttner, Oliver Krenkel, Ehsan Bahrami, George Okafo, Thomas F E Barth, Mark Haenle and 7 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Hepatology communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–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

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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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

17 authors.

Agnes Anna Steixner-KumarDepartment of Global Computational Biology and Digital Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-7913-2716
Diana SantacruzDepartment of Global Computational Biology and Digital Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany.
Tobias GeigerDepartment of Cardiometabolic Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany.
Werner RustDepartment of Global Computational Biology and Digital Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany.
Dennis BöttnerDepartment of Cardiometabolic Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany.
Oliver KrenkelDepartment of Cardiometabolic Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany.
Ehsan BahramiDepartment of Cardiometabolic Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany.
George OkafoDepartment of Global Computational Biology and Digital Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany.
Thomas F E BarthInstitute of Pathology, Ulm, Ulm University, Germany.
Mark HaenleDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Wolfgang KratzerDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Patrycja SchlingeloffDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Julian SchmidbergerDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Heike NeubauerDepartment of Cardiometabolic Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-8470-968
Alec DickDepartment of Global Computational Biology and Digital Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany.
Markus WernerDepartment of Cardiometabolic Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany.
Eric SimonDepartment of Global Computational Biology and Digital Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG, Biberach, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMetabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) progresses to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and is a major cause of liver cirrhosis. Although liver inflammation is the hallmark feature of MASH versus MASLD, the involvement of the peripheral immune cell compartments in disease progression is poorly understood, and single-cell profiles of peripheral immune cells in MASLD/MASH are not known.

methodsPatients with MASLD/MASH and healthy volunteers have been prospectively enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Patients have been histologically stratified and further characterized by liver bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Peripheral immune cells from patients and control blood samples have been comprehensively profiled using bulk and single RNA-Seq.

resultsTwenty-two patients with fibrosis stage less than F3 have been histologically stratified into patients with low, medium, and high disease activity scores (NAFLD activity score [NAS]). In contrast to fibrosis, the NAS group correlated with noninvasive imaging readouts and blood biomarkers of liver damage and inflammation (ALT, AST). The prevalence of type 2 diabetes and obesity increased with the NAS stage. Bulk RNA-seq profiling of patient liver biopsies revealed gene signatures that were positively and negatively associated with NAS. Known marker genes for liver fibrosis where upregulated on RNA level. Blood bulk RNA-seq showed only moderate differences in patients versus healthy controls. In contrast, single-cell analysis of white blood cells revealed multiple alterations of immune (sub-)populations, including an increased abundance of immature B cells and myeloid suppressor cells in patients with MASLD/MASH as compared to healthy controls.

conclusionsThe study gives new insights into the pathophysiology of MASLD/MASH already manifesting relatively early in peripheral immune cell compartments. This opens new avenues for the development of new biomarker diagnostics and disease therapies.

Indexed as

Fatty LiverNon-alcoholic Fatty Liver DiseaseAdultAgedBiomarkersCase-Control StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesDisease ProgressionFemaleHumansLiverLiver CirrhosisMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesRNA-SeqBiomarkersB cellsbloodimmature immune cellsimmune cellsliverMASHMASLDmyeloid-derived suppressor cellsneutrophilsscRNA-Seq

Identifiers

PMID40257301
PMCPMC12014121

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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.