Hypoxia Induces M2 Macrophages to Express VSIG4 and Mediate Cardiac Fibrosis After Myocardial Infarction
Yan Wang, Yu Zhang, Jiao Li, Chaofu Li, Ranzun Zhao, Changyin Shen, Weiwei Liu, Jidong Rong, Zhenglong Wang, Junbo Ge, Bei Shi
Abstract
knockout and adoptive bone marrow transfer chimeric models. We also determined the function of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) through gain- or loss-of-function experiments. We showed that VSIG4 promotes scar formation and orchestrates the myocardial inflammatory response after AMI, while also promoting TGF-β1 and IL-10. Moreover, we revealed that hypoxia promotes VSIG4 expression in cultured bone marrow M2 macrophages, ultimately leading to the conversion of CFs to myofibroblasts. Our results reveal a crucial role for VSIG4 in the process of AMI in mice and provide a potential immunomodulatory therapeutic avenue for fibrosis repair after AMI.