---
title: "Cell death screen reveals macrophage-depleting agents with potential therapeutic use"
id: "biorxiv-17-a-cell-death-screen-identifies-macrophage-depleting-agents-with-therapeutic"
canonical_url: "https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/biorxiv-17-a-cell-death-screen-identifies-macrophage-depleting-agents-with-therapeutic"
content_type: "clinical_feed_article"
specialty: "Pharmacology"
source_name: "bioRxiv (Biomedical Preprints)"
source_url: "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.17.752341v1?rss=1"
published_at: "2026-09-23T12:00:00.000Z"
evidence_level: "Verified Feed"
license: "CC-BY-NC-4.0 / Informational Use"
---
# Cell death screen reveals macrophage-depleting agents with potential therapeutic use
## Provenance & Clinical Metadata
- **Canonical URL:** https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/biorxiv-17-a-cell-death-screen-identifies-macrophage-depleting-agents-with-therapeutic
- **Specialty:** [Pharmacology](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/pharmacology.md)
- **Primary Source:** bioRxiv (Biomedical Preprints)
- **Source URL:** [Original Journal Publication](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.17.752341v1?rss=1)
- **Published At:** 2026-09-23T12:00:00.000Z
- **Evidence Rating:** Verified Feed
## Executive GIST (TL;DR)
- The preprint titled “A cell death screen identifies macrophage-depleting agents with therapeutic potential” was posted to bioRxiv and has not been peer reviewed. The DOI is https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.17.752341. - The study is authored by Paul Ettel and colleagues from the Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna, and CeMM; corresponding author is Thomas Weichhart (thomas.weichhart@meduniwien.ac.at). - The report’s title indicates the work used a **cell death screen** approach to identify compounds or interventions that deplete **macrophages**, suggesting a focus on agents with potential therapeutic application. - The source material supplied here contains article metadata (authors, affiliations, DOI, preprint notice, links to abstract, supplementary material and PDF) but does not include the abstract text, methods, results, identified agents, experimental models, or conclusions. - Because the detailed content (screen design, hit compounds, validation experiments, safety or efficacy data, and proposed clinical contexts) is not present in the provided source text, specifics about which **macrophage-depleting agents** were identified and their measured effects are not reported here. - The article includes links to supplementary material and a full PDF on the bioRxiv site; those resources likely contain the missing experimental details and data but were not part of the supplied source body. - Any interpretation or clinical recommendation based on this work should account for the preprint status and the absence of peer review and should rely on the full manuscript and supporting data before adoption or clinical translation.
## Clinical Analysis & Structured Key Points
A cell death screen identifies macrophage-depleting agents with therapeutic potential | bioRxiv Skip to main content New Results A cell death screen identifies macrophage-depleting agents with therapeutic potential Paul Ettel , Stephan Forisch , Manuela Traeger , Mario Mazic , Hannah K. Mayr , Andrea Vogel , Piyal Saha , Lovro Davidovski , Roko Sango , Velina S. Atanasova , Anna Gschwendtner , Christoph Trenk , Herwig P. Moll , Emilio Casanova , Helmut Dolznig , Markus Hengstschlaeger , Thomas Rattei , Anna Koren , Stefan Kubicek , Mario Mikula , Thomas Weichhart doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.17.752341 Paul Ettel 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Stephan Forisch 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Manuela Traeger 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Mario Mazic 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Hannah K. Mayr 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Andrea Vogel 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Piyal Saha 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Lovro Davidovski 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Roko Sango 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Velina S. Atanasova 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Anna Gschwendtner 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Christoph Trenk 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Herwig P. Moll 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Emilio Casanova 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Helmut Dolznig 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Markus Hengstschlaeger 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Thomas Rattei 2 University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Anna Koren 3 CeMM Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Stefan Kubicek 3 CeMM Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Mario Mikula 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site Thomas Weichhart 1 Medical University of Vienna; Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site For correspondence: thomas.weichhart{at}meduniwien.ac.at Abstract Info/History Metrics Supplementary material Preview PDF Abstract Macrophages are critical regulators of inflammation and tissue homeostasis, yet aberrant macrophage activation contributes to a wide spectrum of inflammatory and malignant diseases. Therapeutic strategies that directly reduce macrophage numbers have shown promise, but macrophage survival pathways remain incompletely defined, limiting the development of targeted therapeutic strategies. Here, we establish a high-throughput screening platform to identify small molecule inhibitors that impair macrophage survival. Screening a library of more than 2,000 targeted compounds in a cell survival assay, combined with in silico and in vitro analysis of macrophage specificity, revealed the identification of three potent inhibitors: BIX-01294, GSK-J4, and Masitinib. All three compounds downregulated leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR), whose inhibition markedly reduced macrophage viability. In vivo, these inhibitors effectively depleted large peritoneal macrophages, ameliorated key symptoms of macrophage activation syndrome (MAS), and suppressed tumor growth in a syngeneic transplanted melanoma model as well as in an autochthonous lung cancer model. Together, these findings identify small molecule-mediated macrophage depletion as a promising therapeutic strategy and establish an experimental approach to uncover regulators of macrophage survival. Competing Interest Statement SF, PE, and TW have filed a patent for the usage of BIX-01294 and GSK-J4 in MAS, and Masitinib in MAS and inflammatory macrophage-mediated diseases. Other authors declare that they have no competing interests. Funder Information Declared FWF Austrian Science Fund , 10.55776/P34023 , 10.55776/P34266 , 10.55776/PAT3466825 , 10.55776/F83 , 10.55776/P32900 , 10.55776/P33430 Ann Theodore Foundation Breakthrough Sarcoidosis Initiative Medical Scientific Fund of the Mayor of the City of Vienna , 24148 City of Vienna Fund for innovative, interdisciplinary Cancer Research , 22014 Copyright The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. Back to top Previous Next Posted September 23, 2026. Download PDF Supplementary Material Email Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv. NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article. Your Email * Your Name * Send To * Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You are going to email the following A cell death screen identifies macrophage-depleting agents with therapeutic potential Message Subject (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv Message Body (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website. Your Personal Message CAPTCHA This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. Share A cell death screen identifies macrophage-depleting agents with therapeutic potential Paul Ettel , Stephan Forisch , Manuela Traeger , Mario Mazic , Hannah K. Mayr , Andrea Vogel , Piyal Saha , Lovro Davidovski , Roko Sango , Velina S. Atanasova , Anna Gschwendtner , Christoph Trenk , Herwig P. Moll , Emilio Casanova , Helmut Dolznig , Markus Hengstschlaeger , Thomas Rattei , Anna Koren , Stefan Kubicek , Mario Mikula , Thomas Weichhart bioRxiv 2026.09.17.752341; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.17.752341 Share This Article: Copy Citation Tools A cell death screen identifies macrophage-depleting agents with therapeutic potential Paul Ettel , Stephan Forisch , Manuela Traeger , Mario Mazic , Hannah K. Mayr , Andrea Vogel , Piyal Saha , Lovro Davidovski , Roko Sango , Velina S. Atanasova , Anna Gschwendtner , Christoph Trenk , Herwig P. Moll , Emilio Casanova , Helmut Dolznig , Markus Hengstschlaeger , Thomas Rattei , Anna Koren , Stefan Kubicek , Mario Mikula , Thomas Weichhart bioRxiv 2026.09.17.752341; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.17.752341 Citation Manager Formats BibTeX Bookends EasyBib EndNote (tagged) EndNote 8 (xml) Medlars Mendeley Papers RefWorks Tagged Ref Manager RIS Zotero Tweet Widget Facebook Like Google Plus One Subject Areas All Articles Animal Behavior and Cognition (8022) Biochemistry (18791) Bioengineering (14928) Bioinformatics (44497) Biophysics (22628) Cancer Biology (19772) Cell Biology (26950) Clinical Trials (138) Developmental Biology (13999) Ecology (21049) Epidemiology (2067) Evolutionary Biology (25474) Genetics (16186) Genomics (23537) Immunology (18729) Microbiology (42551) Molecular Biology (18102) Neuroscience (93618) Paleontology (701) Pathology (2989) Pharmacology and Toxicology (5105) Physiology (8128) Plant Biology (16027) Scientific Communication and Education (2098) Synthetic Biology (4573) Systems Biology (10255) Zoology (2393)
## Related Clinical Research

- [Targeted Crizotinib Therapy Extends Survival in ROS1 Lung Cancer Patient](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/stat-news-4-how-a-targeted-drug-kept-one-patient-alive-15-years-but-failed-to-save-her.md)
- [Extracellular Y RNA Fragments and a Proposed Role for YBX1 in Macrophage Responses in Gastrointest](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/frontiers-in-immunology-17-extracellular-y-rna-fragments-in-gastrointestinal-cancer-and-a-proposed-role.md)
- [Predictive biomarkers for immune checkpoint inhibitors in lung cancer — Editorial](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/frontiers-in-immunology-16-editorial-predictive-biomarkers-to-immune-checkpoint-inhibitors-in-lung-cancer.md)
- [What to read before you see the new Elizabeth Holmes documentary](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/stat-news-4-what-to-read-before-you-go-see-that-new-documentary-on-elizabeth-holmes.md)
- [Pope Leo XIV Diagnosed with Lung Adenocarcinoma: Key Insights](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/medical-news-today-0-pope-leo-lung-cancer-diagnosis-what-to-know-about-lung-adenocarcinoma.md)

## Navigation
- [← Back to Pharmacology Feed](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/pharmacology.md)
- [← All Clinical Specialties](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed.md)
## Medical & Regulatory Disclaimer

> [!CAUTION]
> MedicHelpline content is structured for research, educational, and professional discovery purposes. It does not constitute individual medical advice, clinical diagnosis, or treatment recommendations.
> Always verify dosing, contraindications, and regulatory alerts against official product labeling and primary regulatory sources before clinical decision-making.