Liver Macrophages: Disease Modifier and Therapeutic Target in Hepatology
A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Gastroenterology & Hepatopancreatobiliary Medicine".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 September 2020) | Viewed by 5486
Special Issue Editor
Interests: liver immunology; clinical and experimental hepatology; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; liver fibrosis; hepatocellular carcinoma; digital medicine
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Macrophages represent a key innate immune cell component of the liver. They act as tissue response orchestrators that maintain homeostasis and coordinate rapid responses to hepatic injury. Thus, macrophages are essentially involved in the pathogenesis of acute and chronic liver diseases, including rapid inflammatory responses after injury, hepatic fibrosis progression or regression as well as transition from chronic inflammation to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Two discoveries have revolutionized our understanding of liver macrophages: (a) the recognition of heterogeneous subsets such as liver-resident, self-sustaining Kupffer cells as opposed to monocyte-derived, infiltrating macrophages that rapidly accumulate in injured liver; and (b) the notion of macrophage plasticity, which allows them to adapt their phenotype in response to local and systemic signals, thereby providing a large spectrum of functional responses. Recent findings have revealed how hepatic macrophages can fulfill diverse and even opposing functions in homeostasis, disease progression, and regression from injury. Understanding hepatic macrophage heterogeneity, up to a single cell level, and the underlying mechanisms may help to develop novel macrophage subset-targeted therapies for liver disease.
The present Special Issue aims to deepen our understanding of the biology, pathogenic role, and therapeutic potential of macrophages in the liver. Basic researchers and clinical scientists are warmly invited to submit their latest research that will broaden our perspective on macrophages as a disease modifier and therapeutic target in liver diseases.
Prof. Dr. Frank Tacke
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- monocytes and macrophages
- liver immunology
- nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
- nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)
- hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)
- acute liver failure (ALF)
- hepatitis
- physiology and pathogenesis
- therapeutic target
- clinical trials
- innate immunity
