Objective Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory dermatosis predominantly affecting the central face, with its pathogenesis not yet fully elucidated. Macrophages, as innate immune cells in the human body, play a crucial role in inflammatory responses. However, the specific mechanistic role of macrophages in rosacea remains incompletely understood. This review aims to comprehensively analyze and discuss the functions of macrophages, their involvement in the pathogenesis of rosacea, and their potential as therapeutic targets. Method A systematic literature search was conducted using keywords such as “rosacea” and “macrophage” in databases including PubMed and Web of Science, without restrictions on article type or publication date, to ensure a comprehensive retrieval of relevant studies. Additionally, the references cited in the retrieved articles were manually searched to gather further pertinent knowledge. Results For the articles obtained from the database searches, we focused solely on those that mentioned the role of macrophages in rosacea and related therapeutic approaches to ensure the accuracy of the content. Ultimately, 121 articles were selected for inclusion in this review, encompassing review articles, original research studies, meta-analyses, and other types of publications. Conclusion This review summarizes the latest research progress on the role of macrophages in the pathogenesis of rosacea, emphasizing their significant involvement through the regulation of immune responses, angiogenesis, oxidative stress, fibrosis, and other processes. Furthermore, the potential of macrophages as therapeutic targets for rosacea is explored, which warrants further investigation in the future. Despite the advancements made, numerous unresolved questions remain regarding the mechanistic role of macrophages in rosacea. Future research is imperative to delve deeper into the underlying mechanisms, thereby providing novel insights into the pathogenesis and treatment of rosacea.Please confirm that the below Frontiers AI generated Alt-Text is an accurate visual description of your Figure(s). These Figure Alt-text proposals won't replace your figure captions and will not be visible on your article. If you wish to make any changes, kindly provide the exact revised Alt-Text you would like to use, ensuring that the word-count remains at approximately 100 words for best accessibility results. Further information on Alt-Text can be found here.
Wang et al. (Thu,) studied this question.