Peripheral nerve injuries remain challenging to treat despite extensive research on reparative processes at the injury site. Recent studies have emphasized the importance of immune cells, particularly macrophages, in recovery from nerve injury. Macrophage plasticity enables numerous functions at the injury site. At early time points, macrophages perform inflammatory functions, but at later time points, they adopt pro-regenerative phenotypes to support nerve regeneration. Research has largely been limited, however, to the injury site. The neuromuscular junction (NMJ), the synapse between the nerve terminal and end target muscle, has received comparatively less attention, despite the importance of NMJ reinnervation for motor recovery. Macrophages are present at the NMJ following nerve injury. Moreover, in denervating diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), macrophages may also play beneficial roles at the NMJ. Evidence of positive macrophages roles at the injury site after peripheral nerve injury and at the NMJ in denervating pathologies suggest that macrophages may promote NMJ reinnervation. In this review, we discuss the intersection of nerve injury and immunity, with a focus on macrophages.

尽管对损伤部位的修复过程进行了广泛的研究，但周围神经损伤的治疗仍然具有挑战性。最近的研究强调了免疫细胞，特别是巨噬细胞在神经损伤恢复中的重要性。巨噬细胞可塑性使损伤部位具有多种功能。在早期，巨噬细胞发挥炎症功能，但在后期，它们采用促再生表型来支持神经再生。然而，研究在很大程度上仅限于受伤部位。神经肌肉接头 (NMJ) 是神经末梢和末端目标肌肉之间的突触，尽管 NMJ 再神经支配对运动恢复很重要，但受到的关注相对较少。神经损伤后，巨噬细胞存在于 NMJ。此外，在去神经疾病中，例如肌萎缩侧索硬化症 (ALS)，巨噬细胞也可能在 NMJ 中发挥有益作用。周围神经损伤后损伤部位和 NMJ 在去神经病变中巨噬细胞作用的证据表明巨噬细胞可能促进 NMJ 再神经支配。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了神经损伤和免疫的交叉点，重点是巨噬细胞。