Macrophage hypoxia signaling regulates cardiac fibrosis via Oncostatin M

The fibrogenic response in tissue-resident fibroblasts is determined by the balance between activation and repression signals from the tissue microenvironment. While the molecular pathways by which transforming growth factor-1 (TGF-β1) activates pro-fibrogenic mechanisms have been extensively studied and are recognized critical during fibrosis development, the factors regulating TGF-β1 signaling are poorly understood. Here we show that macrophage hypoxia signaling suppresses excessive fibrosis in a heart via oncostatin-m (OSM) secretion. During cardiac remodeling, Ly6Chi monocytes/macrophages accumulate in hypoxic areas through a hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α dependent manner and suppresses cardiac fibroblast activation. As an underlying molecular mechanism, we identify OSM, part of the interleukin 6 cytokine family, as a HIF-1α target gene, which directly inhibits the TGF-β1 mediated activation of cardiac fibroblasts through extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2-dependent phosphorylation of the SMAD linker region. These results demonstrate that macrophage hypoxia signaling regulates fibroblast activation through OSM secretion in vivo.