Gang Huang

Gang Huang


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

1Year (2026-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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17 February 2026 in Journal of Clinical Investigation
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
QCQi Cao
Qi Cao
JLJian Liu
Jian Liu
GHGang Huang
Gang Huang
SWSu-Yuan Wang
Su-Yuan Wang
GLGuo-Dong Lu
Guo-Dong Lu
PWPei Wang
Pei Wang
Metabolic–inflammatory crosstalk orchestrates muscle repair. Although pyroptosis typically aggravates sterile injury, we demonstrated that GSDME-dependent pyroptotic signaling associated with recruited myeloid cells paradoxically supported regeneration. GSDME expression was induced in postsurgical human muscle injury and murine damage models. Gsdme deficiency delayed functional recovery and exacerbated injury-induced myosteatosis, a pathological form of intramuscular ectopic fat deposition. Time-series and scRNA-seq analyses revealed that GSDME loss shifted the transcriptional program from oxidative metabolism to lipid storage and adipogenesis. Lipidomics confirmed aberrant accumulation of triacylglycerols (TAGs) and sphingolipids in Gsdme -deficient muscle. Single-cell profiling further identified divergent fibro-adipogenic progenitor (FAP) states skewed toward adipogenesis, accompanied by impaired expansion of restorative Lyve1 + Cd163 + Txnip + tissue-resident macrophages (TRMs), as validated by multiplex flow cytometry. Blocking CCR2-dependent monocyte recruitment produced regenerative defects comparable with those caused by Gsdme deficiency. Myeloid-specific Gsdme reintroduction rescued TRM expansion and function and curbed FAP adipogenic reprogramming, whereas FAP-specific expression proved ineffective. Mechanistically, IL-18 downstream of GSDME-dependent signaling engaged KLF4/JUN signaling in TRMs, sustaining their reparative and lipid-clearing capacity. This GSDME–IL-18–TRM axis was compromised in aged muscle, yet exogenous IL-18 reversed myosteatosis and accelerated regeneration. Together, these findings suggest that GSDME-dependent pyroptotic signaling can act as a metabolic checkpoint that sustains TRM-driven lipid homeostasis to support muscle regeneration.