Understanding the complex macrophage landscape in MASLD

Abstract

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) represents a spectrum of disease states ranging from simple steatosis to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), which can eventually lead to the development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Macrophages have long been implicated in driving the progression from steatosis to end-stage disease, yet we still know relatively little about the precise involvement of these cells in MASLD progression and/or regression. Rather, there are a considerable number of conflicting reports regarding the precise roles of these cells. This confusion stems from the fact that, until recently, macrophages in the liver were considered a homogenous population. However, thanks to recent technological advances including multi-parameter flow cytometry, single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial proteogenomics, we now know that this is not the case. Rather hepatic macrophages, even in the healthy liver, are heterogenous, existing in multiple subsets with distinct transcriptional profiles and hence likely functions. This heterogeneity is even more prominent in MASLD, where the macrophage pool consists of multiple different subsets of resident and recruited cells. To probe the unique functions of these cells and determine if targeting macrophages may be a viable therapeutic strategy in MASLD, we first need to unravel this complexity and decipher which populations and/or activation states are present and what functions each of these may play in driving MASLD progression. In this review, we summarise recent advances in the field, highlighting what is currently known about the hepatic macrophage landscape in MASLD and the questions that remain to be tackled.