Unraveling the Role of Macrophages in Diabetes: Impaired Phagocytic Function and Therapeutic Prospects

Overview

Journal Medicine (Baltimore)

Specialty General Medicine

Date 2025 Feb 24

PMID 39993124

Authors

Bing Rong

Hailun Jiang

Weiming Zhu

Guanhu Yang

Xuancheng Zhou

Zhongxi Lyu

Xiangyi Li

Jieying Zhang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The rising aging population and changing lifestyles have led to a global increase in diabetes and its complications, making it one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide. Chronic inflammation is a key pathogenic feature of diabetes and its complications, yet the precise mechanisms remain unclear, impeding the development of targeted therapies. Recent studies have highlighted the β cell-macrophage crosstalk pathway as a crucial factor in chronic low-grade inflammation and glucose homeostasis imbalance in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, impaired macrophage phagocytic functions, including pathogen phagocytosis, efferocytosis, and autophagy, play a significant role in diabetes complications. Given their high plasticity, macrophages represent a promising research target. This review summarizes recent findings on macrophage phagocytic dysfunction in diabetes and its complications, and explores emerging therapies targeting macrophage phagocytic function. We also discuss the current challenges in translating basic research to clinical practice, aiming to guide researchers in developing targeted treatments to regulate macrophage status and phagocytic function, thus preventing and treating metabolic inflammatory diseases.

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