ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2025
Antlers on does: An unexpected role of macrophages in deer biology.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Review
- Advances in deer antler research based on single-cell multi-omics approaches.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Review
- The regulation of pedicle initiation by androgens in sika deer (Cervus nippon).Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Antlers, a male deer secondary sex characteristic, are unique mammalian appendages that fully regenerate annually, under androgen regulation. Stem cells located in the antlerogenic periosteum (AP), a tissue overlaying the frontal crest of both male and female deer, play a crucial role in antlerogenesis. Nonetheless, the underlying molecular mechanisms as to how antlerogenesis is regulated by androgens remain largely unexplored. Here, we show that androgens regulate antler growth via macrophages. Bulk RNA sequencing revealed a significant enrichment of immune-related factors in the androgen-activated antlerogenic periosteum (AAP), and single-cell RNA sequencing identified a cluster of AAP cells overexpressing macrophage chemokine CCL2. Additionally, the presence of a substantial number of monocytes/macrophages was detected in the skin overlying the AAP. Histological examination confirmed macrophage accumulation in the AAP. Removal of macrophages with clodronate effectively inhibited antler generation in male sika deer as well as in nude mice engrafted with the AP. Furthermore, testosterone up-regulated CCL2 expression in the AP cells (APCs), thus enhancing their chemotactic effect on recruitment of macrophages. Remarkably, female sika deer developed antlers following local injection of CCL2, autologous macrophages, or even immune response inducer lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Therefore, macrophages play an essential role in deer antler generation.
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.