TGF-β regulates tissue-resident macrophage identity and function
Recent advances redefine transforming growth factor-β signaling as a spatially restricted, context-dependent determinant of macrophage identity, rather than a generic immunoregulatory pathway.
Transforming growth factor-β facilitates macrophage–tissue crosstalk by integrating local signals to establish tissue-specific immune niches.
Localized activation of latent transforming growth factor-β generates confined microenvironments that support macrophage-mediated tissue homeostasis.
Tissue-specific enhancers induced by transforming growth factor-β signaling enable SMAD complexes and other cofactors to orchestrate distinct macrophage transcriptional programs across organs.
These spatial control mechanisms may explain the coexistence of diverse macrophage populations within individual tissues.
https://www.cell.com/trends/immunology/fulltext/S1471-4906(26)00128-6
