Go to JCI Insight
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Journal stats
  • Publication ethics
  • Publication alerts by email
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Contact
  • Clinical Research and Public Health
  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • By specialty
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Immunology
    • Metabolism
    • Nephrology
    • Neuroscience
    • Oncology
    • Pulmonology
    • Vascular biology
    • All ...
  • Videos
    • ASCI Milestone Awards
    • Video Abstracts
    • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
  • Reviews
    • View all reviews ...
    • The cGAS-STING pathway: DNA sensing in health and disease (Jun 2026)
    • Neurodegeneration (Mar 2026)
    • Clinical innovation and scientific progress in GLP-1 medicine (Nov 2025)
    • Pancreatic Cancer (Jul 2025)
    • Complement Biology and Therapeutics (May 2025)
    • Evolving insights into MASLD and MASH pathogenesis and treatment (Apr 2025)
    • Microbiome in Health and Disease (Feb 2025)
    • View all review series ...
  • Viewpoint
  • Collections
    • In-Press Preview
    • Clinical Research and Public Health
    • Research Letters
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Editorials
    • Commentaries
    • Editor's notes
    • Reviews
    • Viewpoints
    • 100th anniversary
    • Top read articles

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Specialties
  • Reviews
  • Review series
  • ASCI Milestone Awards
  • Video Abstracts
  • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
  • In-Press Preview
  • Clinical Research and Public Health
  • Research Letters
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Editorials
  • Commentaries
  • Editor's notes
  • Reviews
  • Viewpoints
  • 100th anniversary
  • Top read articles
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Journal stats
  • Publication ethics
  • Publication alerts by email
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Contact
Top
  • View PDF
  • Download citation information
  • Send a comment
  • Terms of use
  • Standard abbreviations
  • Need help? Email the journal
  • Top
  • Abstract
  • Supplemental material
  • Version history
  • Article usage
  • Citations to this article

Advertisement

ResearchIn-Press PreviewCell biologyHematology Open Access | 10.1172/JCI201621

Immune subtypes of megakaryocytes orchestrate inflammatory and regulatory responses to pulmonary infection via Treg crosstalk

Huizhen He,1 Yezi Ma,1 Yifei Cai,1 xiaoyuan chen,1 Tianran Cheng,1 Ziqi Huo,1 Sibei Guo,2 Meijuan Xia,1 Dan Feng,1 Minmin Li,1 Jingjing Zhao,1 Nananan Zhao,1 Pei Su,1 Wen Zhou,3 Fei Wang,4 Cuicui Liu,1 Hongtao Wang,1 and Jiaxi Zhou1

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by He, H. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Ma, Y. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Cai, Y. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by chen, x. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Cheng, T. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Huo, Z. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Guo, S. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Xia, M. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Feng, D. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Li, M. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Zhao, J. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Zhao, N. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Su, P. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Zhou, W. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Wang, F. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Liu, C. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Wang, H. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

1State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China

2Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

3Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, China

4HaemoCure Inc, Tianjin, China

Find articles by Zhou, J. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

Published September 29, 2026 - More info

J Clin Invest. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI201621.
Copyright © 2026, He et al. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Published September 29, 2026 - Version history
View PDF
Abstract

Recent studies have revealed that, beyond their classical role in platelet production, megakaryocytes (MKs) express immune-related genes and exert important immunoregulatory functions. However, it remains unclear whether these functions arise from a single versatile population or from distinct specialized subtypes, and how such subtypes influence infection and inflammation. Here, we identified three specialized immune MK subtypes (imm-MKs)—macrophage-like MKs (Mac-MKs), neutrophil-like MKs (Neu-MKs), and antigen-presenting MKs (APC-MKs)—each defined by distinct transcriptional programs and regulatory networks, with comparable heterogeneity observed in human MKs. Developmental analyses showed that MK immune-related programs increased with maturation and that immune MK subtypes exhibited distinct tissue- and stage-dependent patterns. Functionally, MK subtypes exhibited phase-specific responses during bacterial pneumonia: early infection preferentially induced Mac-MKs and Neu-MKs, which contributed to pulmonary inflammation, whereas during the post-peak acute-to-early-recovery stage, APC-MKs supported a Treg-associated regulatory program that contributed to pulmonary inflammatory control. This MK–Treg axis uncovers a previously unrecognized mechanism of hematopoietic–immune crosstalk. Collectively, our study delineates organ- and stage-specific immune specialization of MKs and identifies immune MK subtypes as dynamic contributors to phase-specific inflammatory and Treg-linked regulatory programs during development and infection.

Supplemental material

View Supporting data of this study

View Key Resource Table of this study

Version history
  • Version 1 (September 29, 2026): In-Press Preview

Article tools

  • View PDF
  • Download citation information
  • Send a comment
  • Terms of use
  • Standard abbreviations
  • Need help? Email the journal

Metrics

  • Article usage
  • Citations to this article

Go to

  • Top
  • Abstract
  • Supplemental material
  • Version history
Advertisement
Advertisement

Copyright © 2026 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

Sign up for email alerts