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Efferocytosis refers to the process by which apoptotic cells are engulfed and cleared by phagocytes, including professional phagocytes, such as macrophages and dendritic cells, and non-professional phagocytes, such as epithelial cells. Liver macrophages are the main cells with the function of efferocytosis in the liver. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have shown that various acute and chronic liver diseases are associated with the efferocytosis function of liver macrophages, including acute liver injury, alcoholic liver disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, autoimmune liver disease, liver fibrosis, and liver cancer. This article elaborates on the expression of molecules associated with the efferocytosis function of macrophages, the process of efferocytosis, and the role of efferocytosis function in different liver diseases, so as to provide new ideas for the treatment of liver diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atherosclerosis is the main pathological basis for the occurrence and development of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Macrophage efferocytosis deficiency exists in the formation of atherosclerosis. Defective efferocytosis leads to the accumulation of uncleared apoptotic cells and secondary necrosis, leading to characteristic formation of necrotic core and plaque instability in atherosclerosis. The complete process of efferocytosis includes recognition("find me")stage, phagocytosis("eat me")stage, and the post-processing reaction (digestion) stage. It has been reported that miRNA is involved in the regulation of key signal transduction and lipid homeostasis in atherosclerotic efferocytosis. This paper discussed the important role of efferocytosis in the process of atherosclerosis and the influence of efferocytosis defect on atherosclerosis. This review focuses on the regulatory effects of "eat me" and "don􀆳t eat me" signals of efferocytosis in the overall inflammation of atherosclerosis, and meanwhile the regulation of miRNA on lipid metabolism and inflammation regression in atherosclerosis, and the fine tuning of miRNA targeting macrophage efferocytosis in the process of atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Dysfunction of macrophage efferocytosis can induce local and systemic inflammatory damage and is associated with a variety of obesity-related metabolic diseases. Moreover, compounds targeting efferocytosis have shown good therapeutic effects. OBJECTIVE: By reviewing the effects of obesity on macrophage efferocytosis, to analyze the key mechanism by which obesity inhibits efferocytosis, to summarize the research progress in compounds targeting efferocytosis to treat obesity-related metabolic diseases, so as to provide new ideas for fully understanding efferocytosis and its relationship with metabolic diseases, aiming to provide new strategies for disease prevention and treatment. METHODS: The English search terms were “efferocytosis, metabolism, obesity, obese, atherosclerosis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, neurodegeneration, tumor, osteoarthritis, diabetes, compound, medicine, treatment,” which were used for literature retrieval in PubMed and Web of Science. The Chinese search term was “efferocytosis,” which was used for literature retrieval in CNKI, VIP and WanFang datebases. Ninety-nine papers were finally included in the review analysis after a rigorous screening process. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In the process of efferocytosis, the “Find me” and “Eat me” processes involving a large number of apoptotic cell derived factors are mainly regulated by apoptotic cells. The efferocytosis factor involved in cytoskeletal remodeling and digestion are mainly derived from macrophages, which are crucial for efferocytosis activity. These results suggest that the “Find me” and “Eat me” factors mainly reflect the condition of apoptosis, and it is more scientific to select the expression of factors involved in cytoskeletal remodeling and digestion when evaluating the efferocytosis activity of macrophages. Obesity inhibits efferocytosis, and shows an inhibitory effect on most digestive factors, but has a stress-induced activation effect on most “Find me,” “Eat me” and cytoskeletal recombination factors, which further indicates the decisive effect of digestive stage on efferocytosis and suggests that it is not reliable for some studies to evaluate the efferocytosis based on the increased expression of “Find me” and “Eat me” factors. Targeting cytokines in the digestive phase may be more effective when discussing future intervention strategies targeting macrophages efferocytosis. The efferocytosis activators of macrophages are effective in the treatment of various metabolic diseases, but the efferocytosis inhibitors in tumor tissue show good anticancer effects, suggesting that the role of efferocytosis should be rationally evaluated according to the characteristics of tissue inflammation. Efferocytosis is a relatively new concept proposed in 2003, with a short research history and complex efferocytosis factors. Current studies on obesity and efferocytosis only involve a tip of the iceberg and most of them are at a superficial level and a large number of scientific experiments are needed to further validate the mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efferocytosis is a physiological process in which apoptotic cells are cleared by phagocytes，and macrophages are one of the most important members of these phagocytes. Inflammation is a protective response of the body against infection and tissue damage，but excessive inflammation and persistent chronic inflammation are closely related to the occurrence and development of many diseases.Macrophages can not only avoid the occurrence of inflammation through the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells，but also obtain an active anti-inflammatory effect by interacting with apoptotic cells and their metabolites during this process. This active anti-inflammatory effect is essential for the timely resolution of inflammation and critical for the initiation of repair and regeneration after tissue damage. This review summarizes the recent research progress related to the mechanism of this active anti-inflammatory effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Macrophage plays an important role in human innate immune system. It has powerful functions, such as recognition, phagocytosis, and bacteria and foreign body removal. Periodontitis, which is a chronic infectious disease characterized by gum inflammation and bone loss, is a major cause of tooth loss in adults. Several studies demonstrated that periodontal tissue destruction is caused by the host immune response defending against infections. As an important part of host immune response, macrophage is also involved in periodontitis pathogenesis. Recently, anti-inflammatory and proresolving activities of macrophage was discovered. Thus, the complex function of macrophage in the occurrence, development, and resolution of inflammation and its potential role in periodontitis were reviewed.