Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41836554›Full record

ArticleJournal of orthopaedic translation2026

Profibrotic macrophage-derived CXCL4 promotes pericyte-to-myofibroblast transition after spinal cord injury.

Gang Li, Le Wang, Xiaoyu Wu, Xiaolin Zeng, Lingli Long, Wenwu Zhang, Jiewen Chen, Di Zhang, Xi Chen, YiLong Deng and 3 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of orthopaedic translation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. 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

13 authors.

Gang LiDepartment of Orthopaedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
Le WangDepartment of Spine Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Xiaoyu WuDepartment of Spine Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Xiaolin ZengDivision of Spine Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
Lingli LongResearch Center of Translational Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Wenwu ZhangDepartment of Spine Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Weihui, Henan Province, China.
Jiewen ChenDepartment of Spine Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Di ZhangDepartment of Spine Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Xi ChenFaculty of Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macao Special Administrative Region of China.
YiLong DengDepartment of Spine Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
XinZhiDepartment of Spine Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Yong WanDepartment of Spine Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Xiang LiDepartment of Spine Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Spinal cord injury (SCI) induces fibrotic scarring that impairs axonal regeneration. Pericytes contribute to scar formation via pericyte-to-myofibroblast transition (PMT), yet the mechanisms underlying PMT in SCI remain unclear. Although CXCL4, a pleiotropic chemokine, is implicated in various fibrotic disorders, its role in driving PMT post-SCI remains unexplored. Objectives: To investigate whether CXCL4 drives PMT after SCI, elucidate its mechanisms, and assess its therapeutic potential. Methods: scRNA-seq characterized cell-type dynamics and profibrotic signals in injured mouse spinal cords. Results: PMT occurred post SCI, with Pdgfrβ Conclusion: Profibrotic macrophage-derived CXCL4 activates CXCR3/PI3K/Akt signaling in pericytes, driving their transition into scar-forming myofibroblasts after SCI. Blocking this axis mitigates fibrosis and enhances axonal regeneration and motor recovery. The translational potential of this article: This study indicates that targeting the CXCL4-driven pericyte-to-myofibroblast transition to reduce fibrotic scar formation may provide an effective therapeutic strategy for enhancing axonal regeneration and functional recovery after SCI.

Indexed as

CXCL4FibrosisPericytePericyte-myofibroblast transition (PMT)Spinal cord injury

Identifiers

PMID41836554
PMCPMC12988535

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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.