Macrophage: Key player in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases

Shuang Yang; Ming Zhao; Sujie Jia

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1080310

Macrophage: Key player in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases

Front Immunol. 2023 Feb 14:14:1080310. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1080310. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Shuang Yang¹, Ming Zhao^{1

2

3}, Sujie Jia⁴

Affiliations

¹ Dapartment of Dermatology, Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenomics, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
² Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Basic and Translational Research on Immune-Mediated Skin Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Nanjing, China.
⁴ Department of Pharmacy, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China.

Abstract

The macrophage is an essential part of the innate immune system and also serves as the bridge between innate immunity and adaptive immune response. As the initiator and executor of the adaptive immune response, macrophage plays an important role in various physiological processes such as immune tolerance, fibrosis, inflammatory response, angiogenesis and phagocytosis of apoptotic cells. Consequently, macrophage dysfunction is a vital cause of the occurrence and development of autoimmune diseases. In this review, we mainly discuss the functions of macrophages in autoimmune diseases, especially in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatic arthritis (RA), systemic sclerosis (SSc) and type 1 diabetes (T1D), providing references for the treatment and prevention of autoimmune diseases.

Keywords: macrophage; rheumatic arthritis; systemic lupus erythematosus; systemic sclerosis; type 1 diabetes.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Arthritis, Rheumatoid*
Autoimmune Diseases* / etiology
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1* / etiology
Humans
Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic*
Macrophages

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan province, China (Grant No.2020JJ4837), the Health Commission of Hunan province (Grant No.202202044436), the Project for leading talents in science and technology in Hunan province (2019RS3003) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82030097).