Work

AMPKα1 Deficiency in Macrophages Impairs Tendon Regeneration and Tendon Stem Cell Function via TNF-α-FBP2 Signaling

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: ) mice, we found that macrophage AMPKα1 deficiency impairs tendon regeneration and repair capacity, leading to compromised proliferation, migration, and differentiation functions of tendon stem/progenitor cells (TSPCs). Mechanistically, AMPKα1-deficient macrophages exhibited increased TNF-α production, which promoted the expression of Fructose-bisphosphatase 2 (FBP2) in a PI3K/AKT-dependent manner. In addition, FBP2 can modulate mitochondrial biogenesis and dynamics through a non-enzymatic mechanism and facilitate tissue repair and regeneration. Collectively, these findings underscore the immunometabolism mechanism linking macrophage AMPKα1 activity to stem cell injury responses via a TNF-α-FBP2 axis and provide new insights into the role of FBP2 for regulating stem cells.

Source: International Journal of Biological Sciences

DOI: 10.7150/ijbs.125245