In-Depth Proteomic Analysis Reveals Phenotypic Diversity of Macrophages in Liver Fibrosis

Abstract

Macrophages make up a heterogeneous population of immune cells that exhibit diverse phenotypes and functions in health and disease. Although macrophage epigenomic and transcriptomic profiles have been reported, the proteomes of distinct macrophage populations under various pathological conditions remain largely elusive. Here, we employed a label-free proteomic approach to characterize the diversity of the hepatic macrophage pool in an experimental model of CCl₄-induced liver fibrosis. We found a decrease in the proportion of liver resident embryo-derived KCs (EmKCs), and a drastic increase in the proportion of monocyte-derived KCs (MoKCs) and CLEC2^–Macs. Proteomic profiling revealed that MoKCs largely resembled EmKCs, whereas CLEC2^–Macs exhibited greater proteomic alternations compared with EmKCs, suggesting two distinct destinations for monocyte differentiation during liver fibrosis. Furthermore, CLEC2^–Macs were characterized by increased expression of proteins associated with inflammatory response, antigen processing and presentation processes, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis. Collectively, our study provides insights into the considerable heterogeneity within the hepatic macrophage pool during liver fibrosis.