Macrophage metabolic reprogramming via HIF-1α–glycolysis drives osteoblast ferroptosis and bone loss through an IL-6–STAT3–dependent redox axis
Yifan Gu, Kun Wang, Yicong Wang, Ziru Wang, Yiheng Li, Lei Li, Shuai Jiang, Yu Zheng, Run Feng, Min Yang · 2026
Read Macrophage metabolic reprogramming via HIF-1α–glycolysis drives osteoblast ferroptosis and bone loss through an IL-6–STAT3–dependent redox axis by Yifan Gu, Kun Wang, Yicong Wang, Ziru Wang, Yiheng Li, Lei Li, Shuai Jiang, Yu Zheng, Run Feng, Min Yang (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13137742.txt.
Description
Yifan Gu and co-authors trace a chain from inflamed immune cells to dying bone-builders in postmenopausal osteoporosis, in a 2026 study. After menopause, bone is eaten faster than it is built. Marrow macrophages, the authors found, include a sugar-burning subgroup driven by a low-oxygen switch, and their metabolism spills trouble onto osteoblasts, the bone-building cells. Gene data from patients' marrow singled out the subgroup.
A common drug, valproic acid, broke the chain in their experiments. It raised a brake on the oxygen switch, so the macrophages burned less sugar, polarised less aggressively, and secreted less of an inflammatory signal. Bone-builders bathed in their fluid were then spared an iron-driven death. In rats without ovaries, the treatment protected bone. The study nominates immune metabolism as a drug target for a very common disease.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Yifan Gu, Kun Wang, Yicong Wang, Ziru Wang, Yiheng Li, Lei Li, Shuai Jiang, Yu Zheng, Run Feng, Min Yang |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 41 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |