The role of metabolism in macrophage in Kidney diseases

Macrophages are an important component of the human immune system, and they are widely involved in multiple pathophysiological processes such as systemic inflammatory response and tissue damage repair. Kidney macrophages play an important role since the early stages of kidney development, and continue to participate in subsequent inflammatory infiltration, tissue damage, repair and fibrosis, affecting the long-term prognosis after kidney injury. Macrophages can be broadly classified into two different subtypes, depending on their local microenvironment, classically activated(M1) and alternatively activated(M2) macrophages. M1 macrophages are produced by exposured to interferon(IFN)-γ or lipopolysaccharide(LPS) and are considered pro-inflammatory due to their capacity to release certain cytokines. IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-β1 can induce macrophages to M2 polarization, which have anti-inflammatory functions. There have been many studies show that the phenotype and function of macrophages are closely related to their metabolism patterns, and the changes in their metabolism patterns will further affect their biological function, then lead to series of changes in process of pathophysiological in the kidney. Therefore, studying the different phenotypes of kidney macrophages and the mechanisms of their physiological effects under different metabolism patterns will help to further clarify the kidney outcomes in pathological conditions, and guiding the further development of immunotherapy in the future.