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LGALS3 signaling and macrophage ferroptosis in steatohepatitis
Wei Liu, Department of Oral Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang Province, China
Zhuo-Jin Shi, School/Hospital of Stomatology, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Liu W conducted literature review and drafted the manuscript; Shi ZJ conceptualized the study, provided critical revisions, and supervised the overall work.
AI contribution statement: During the manuscript revision process, ChatGPT was used for limited language polishing and writing assistance. The entire content (abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, and conclusion) of the main body of this manuscript was not entirely generated by AI. This manuscript was written, revised, and approved by the author. The research design, data interpretation, and all scientific judgments were independently completed by the author. This manuscript does not contain any images generated by AI. Only ChatGPT was used for limited language polishing and writing assistance to complete the compilation of the “responding to reviewers” document. The content of this document was written and reviewed by the author. No AI tools were used for research design, data analysis, or result interpretation.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Zhuo-Jin Shi, DDS, School/Hospital of Stomatology, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, No. 548 Binwen Road, Hangzhou 310053, Zhejiang Province, China.
Received: March 3, 2026
Revised: April 4, 2026
Accepted: May 15, 2026
Published online: June 27, 2026
Processing time: 111 Days and 4.8 Hours
Revised: April 4, 2026
Accepted: May 15, 2026
Published online: June 27, 2026
Processing time: 111 Days and 4.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Macrophage-linked ferroptosis has emerged as a plausible injury-amplifying layer in steatohepatitis. A recent study of Qiweizhigan granule proposes an LGALS3-TRAF6-GPX4 framework connecting inflammatory activation to ferroptotic vulnerability. Its main value lies in generating a testable translational model rather than a settled mechanism. Future progress will depend on cell-specific causality, human-relevant validation, mechanism-linked potency assays, and clinically deployable biomarker strategies.