fig5

Figure 5. Thbs1 improves diet-induced MASH by regulating hepatic macrophage inflammatory responses through CD47. Clinically, serum Thbs1 tracks MASLD and MASH activity. In mice, Thbs1 limits hepatic macrophage infiltration and M1 macrophage-skewed programs, which are attenuated by liver-specific CD47 overexpression, thereby relieving hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. This figure was created using BioRender. Bian, C. (2026) https://BioRender.com/jeldwz5. CD47: cluster of differentiation 47; MASLD: metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease; MASH: metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis; M1: classically activated macrophage phenotype; Thbs1: thrombospondin-1; Acta2: actin alpha 2 smooth muscle; Adgre1: adhesion G protein-coupled receptor E1; Ccl2: C-C motif chemokine ligand 2; Ccn2: cellular communication network factor 2; Cd68: cluster of differentiation 68; Cd86: cluster of differentiation 86; Col1a1: collagen type I alpha 1 chain; Col1a2: collagen type I alpha 2 chain; iNOS: inducible nitric oxide synthase; Il1β: interleukin-1β; Il6: interleukin-6; Il10: interleukin-10; Il12α: interleukin-12α; Il23α: interleukin-23α; M2: alternatively activated macrophage phenotype; NAS: NAFLD Activity Score; Tgfb1: transforming growth factor-β1; Tnf: tumor necrosis factor-α.