Exploring the full spectrum of macrophage activation

DM Mosser, JP Edwards - Nature reviews immunology, 2008 - nature.com
DM Mosser, JP Edwards
Nature reviews immunology, 2008nature.com
Macrophages display remarkable plasticity and can change their physiology in response to
environmental cues. These changes can give rise to different populations of cells with
distinct functions. In this Review we suggest a new grouping of macrophage populations
based on three different homeostatic activities—host defence, wound healing and immune
regulation. We propose that similarly to primary colours, these three basic macrophage
populations can blend into various other'shades' of activation. We characterize each …
Abstract
Macrophages display remarkable plasticity and can change their physiology in response to environmental cues. These changes can give rise to different populations of cells with distinct functions. In this Review we suggest a new grouping of macrophage populations based on three different homeostatic activities — host defence, wound healing and immune regulation. We propose that similarly to primary colours, these three basic macrophage populations can blend into various other 'shades' of activation. We characterize each population and provide examples of macrophages from specific disease states that have the characteristics of one or more of these populations.
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