Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40625745›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in immunology2025

MicroRNAs regulate alveolar macrophage homeostasis and its function in lung fibrosis.

Nirmal Parajuli, Yi Yao, Namir Khalasawi, Congcong Yin, Qiong Zhang, Indra Adrianto, Aakash Hans, Li Zhou, Qing-Sheng Mi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in immunology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing 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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Monocyte-mediated mechanisms in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: opportunities for early intervention.Apoptosis : an international journal on programmed cell death · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
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

9 authors.

Nirmal Parajuli *Center for Cutaneous Biology and Immunology Research, Department of Dermatology, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, MI, United States.
Yi Yao *Center for Cutaneous Biology and Immunology Research, Department of Dermatology, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, MI, United States.
Namir KhalasawiCenter for Cutaneous Biology and Immunology Research, Department of Dermatology, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, MI, United States.
Congcong YinCenter for Cutaneous Biology and Immunology Research, Department of Dermatology, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, MI, United States.
Qiong ZhangCenter for Bioinformatics, Department of Public Health Sciences, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, MI, United States.
Indra AdriantoCenter for Cutaneous Biology and Immunology Research, Department of Dermatology, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, MI, United States.
Aakash HansCenter for Cutaneous Biology and Immunology Research, Department of Dermatology, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, MI, United States.
Li ZhouCenter for Cutaneous Biology and Immunology Research, Department of Dermatology, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, MI, United States.
Qing-Sheng MiCenter for Cutaneous Biology and Immunology Research, Department of Dermatology, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, MI, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive lung disease with a poor prognosis. Alveolar macrophages (AMs) are essential for maintaining lung homeostasis and play a significant role in the development of lung fibrosis. Tissue-Resident Alveolar Macrophages (TR-AMs), which originate from embryonic progenitors, can self-renew locally in a steady state, independent of hematopoiesis. During fibrogenesis, circulating monocytes rapidly migrate into the lungs and differentiate into monocyte-derived AMs (Mo-AMs). MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs, are critical for regulating gene expression. Our recent study found that the loss of miRNAs in embryonic progenitors significantly decreased the number of TR-AMs in late-stage embryos, indicating that miRNAs are necessary for TR-AM development. However, the role of miRNAs in the postnatal maintenance of TR-AMs and Mo-AMs, as well as their function in pulmonary fibrosis, remains unclear. Methods and Results: Here, we demonstrate that deleting miRNAs after birth severely disrupts TR-AM homeostasis and Mo-AM repopulation from the bone marrow following irradiation. The deficiency of miRNAs in TR-AMs and Mo-AMs was linked to diminished bleomycin-induced experimental lung fibrosis. Mechanistically, the absence of miRNAs increased TR-AM apoptosis under both normal and fibrotic conditions. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis revealed distinct transcriptomic and pathway changes in miRNA-deficient AM subgroups after lung injury. The integration of RNA-seq and miRNA array analyses identified miRNA-mRNA networks in TR-AMs and Mo-AMs in response to bleomycin injury. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis further predicted let-7a, miR-155, and miR-125 as unique upstream regulators of Mo-AM responses to lung fibrosis. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that miRNAs are key epigenetic mediators that differentially regulate the maintenance and function of TR-AMs and Mo-AMs in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis.

Indexed as

HomeostasisIdiopathic Pulmonary FibrosisMacrophages, AlveolarMicroRNAsPulmonary FibrosisAnimalsBleomycinDisease Models, AnimalLungMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMice, KnockoutBleomycinMicroRNAsalveolar macrophageepigeneticslungmicroRNApulmonary fibrosis

Identifiers

PMID40625745
PMCPMC12231002

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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.