TWIST1 and renal fibrosis: Additionally, Twist1 was shown to directly activate Gal3 transcription, and Gal3 upregulation recovered Twist1-mediated M2 macrophage polarization in Twist1 deficient macrophages, suggesting that Twist1/Gal3 signaling modulates macrophage plasticity and promotes renal fibrosis (Wu et al., 2022).