ArticleCell biomaterials2025
M2 macrophage co-culture overrides viscoelastic hydrogel mechanics to promote IL6-dependent fibroblast activation.
Article in Cell biomaterials, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Cellular Responses to Mechanical Cues Across Scales: From Fundamental Insights to Translational Potential.Advanced healthcare materials · 2026Review
- Macrophage-Fibroblast Crosstalk Shapes Wound Repair Signaling In Vitro.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026Article
- Review
- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis from a multiscale mechanobiology perspective: Mechanisms and future therapeutic prospects.iScience · 2026Review
- Cadherin-11 integrates Piezo1 and interleukin-6 signaling to promote fibroblast activation.Biomaterials science · 2026Article
- Editorial: Advances in glycopeptide hydrogel for tissue engineering.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Macrophage Paracrine Signalling Differentially Affects Fibroblast-Induced Collagenous Tissue Remodelling.Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine · 2026Article
- Divergent immune and extracellular matrix transcriptional programs underlie poor prognosis in early-stage lung adenocarcinoma.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Cadherin-11 integrates Piezo1 and interleukin-6 signaling to promote fibroblast activation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- M2 macrophage co-culture overrides viscoelastic hydrogel mechanics to promote IL6-dependent fibroblast activation.Cell biomaterials · 2025Article
- The immunoregulatory role of integrins in pulmonary diseases.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Fibroblast activation drives fibrotic disease; however, the complex interplay of how tissue mechanics and macrophage signaling combine to influence fibroblast activation remains unclear. Using hyaluronic acid hydrogels to mimic lung stiffness and viscoelasticity, we investigated macrophage influence on fibroblast activation. Fibroblasts cultured on stiff (50 kPa) hydrogels mimicking fibrotic tissue exhibit increased activation, as measured by cell spreading and type I collagen and cadherin-11 expression, compared to fibroblasts cultured on soft (1 kPa) viscoelastic hydrogels mimicking normal lung. Macrophage-conditioned media did not alter these trends, however co-culture with M2 macrophages increased fibroblast activation independent of direct macrophage contact, even on soft viscoelastic hydrogels. Blocking interleukin 6 (IL6) signaling mitigated this pro-fibrotic effect but did not affect fibroblast-only cultures. These findings demonstrate that M2 macrophages override hydrogel viscoelasticity to promote fibroblast activation independent of direct contact in an IL6-dependent manner and highlight the utility of hydrogels in deconstructing complex tissue microenvironments.
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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.