Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42591626›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in immunology2026

Beyond hormone deficiency: a framework for endocrine-immune-niche integration in aging skeletal muscle regeneration.

Laura Perin, Stefano Da Sacco, Yan-Yun Liu, Gregory A Brent, Anna Milanesi

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in immunology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

5 authors.

Laura PerinGabriel's Organization Funding All Renal Research (GOFARR) Laboratory, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Division of Urology, Saban Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Stefano Da SaccoGabriel's Organization Funding All Renal Research (GOFARR) Laboratory, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Division of Urology, Saban Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Yan-Yun LiuDepartment of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles-VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Gregory A BrentDepartment of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles-VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Anna MilanesiDepartment of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles-VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, United States.

Funding

BLRD VA I01 BX001966BLRD VA I01 BX006245
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Thyroid hormone (TH) signaling is widely recognized as an important regulator of skeletal muscle regeneration, yet the mechanisms by which aging alters TH-dependent regenerative responses remain unresolved. Current models generally assume that age-associated regenerative decline reflects reduced thyroid hormone receptor (THR) signaling resulting from alterations in hormone availability, receptor expression, or downstream transcriptional activity. However, several observations challenge this view, including the persistence of THR activity in aged tissues, the limited efficacy of thyroid hormone replacement in restoring regeneration, and the distinct regenerative phenotypes observed in aging and hypothyroidism. Here, we propose the hypothesis that aging does not primarily impair skeletal muscle regeneration through loss of THR signaling, but through disruption of endocrine-immune-niche integration. In this framework, THR signaling functions as a systems-level coordinator that integrates endocrine signals with stromal remodeling, immune responses, and intercellular communication networks required for effective tissue repair. To evaluate whether available evidence is consistent with this hypothesis, we integrate published studies with analyses of publicly available murine single-cell transcriptomic, chromatin-accessibility, and ligand-receptor datasets spanning skeletal muscle regeneration, aging, and hypothyroidism. These associative analyses suggest that substantial components of THR activity remain detectable during aging, whereas coordination between THR signaling, macrophage remodeling, extracellular-matrix programs, inflammatory pathways, and Notch-mediated communication is altered. The findings are associative and do not establish causality; rather, they provide a hypothesis-generating framework for experimental testing. We propose that aging represents a state of impaired endocrine-immune-niche integration in which thyroid hormone signaling remains partially active but becomes increasingly uncoupled from the regenerative programs it normally coordinates. This framework offers a possible unifying explanation for several previously disconnected observations and generates experimentally testable predictions regarding endocrine-immune communication during tissue repair and aging.

Indexed as

AgingMuscle, SkeletalRegenerationThyroid HormonesAnimalsHumansMiceReceptors, Thyroid HormoneSignal TransductionReceptors, Thyroid HormoneThyroid Hormonesagingendocrine immune network factorsmuscle stem cellsskeletal muscle regenerationthyroid hormone signaling

Identifiers

PMID42591626
PMCPMC13462458

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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.