Abstract: Renal fibrosis is a pathological repair phenomenon characterized by glomerular sclerosis, tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis that occurs in the process of chronic and sustained injury of renal tissue, and is a common pathway for various chronic renal diseases to develop into end-stage renal diseases. Macrophage-to-myofibroblast transition (MMT) is a process in which bone marrow-derived macrophages differentiate into myofibroblasts during kidney injury and promote renal fibrosis. Here, we summarize some evidence and mechanisms of MMT's influence on renal fibrosis, and further understanding of MMT and its potential signal pathways will be helpful in finding therapeutic targets for renal fibrosis.

Key words: macrophage polarization, macrophage-to-myofibroblast transition, signal pathway, renal fibrosis