[Roles of macrophage-mediated epithelial mesenchymal transdifferentiation in fibrotic diseases].

OBJECTIVE:It is reported that fibrotic changes seemed to be associated with poor prognosis in patients with organ dysfunction, unfortunately no effective treatment existed currently. Recent studies have demonstrated that macrophages can interact with epithelial cells to induce epithelial mesenchymal transdifferentiation (EMT) which is thought to play a key role in the pathogenesis of a variety of fibrotic diseases. Therefore, this review will summarize the potential role of macrophages in the molecular mechanisms of EMT-associated fibrosis. We aimed to provide a possible therapeutic approaches for the fibrotic diseases.