Macrophage Polarization

2016/11/04 by Peter J. Murray · 3,026 citations
Chemistry · Immunology and Microbiology · Neuroscience · #Biochemistry #Biology #Cell biology #Chemistry #Immune cells in cancer #Immunology #In vitro #Inflammation #M2 Macrophage #Macrophage #Macrophage polarization #Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms #Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation #Polarization (electrochemistry)

paper · doi:10.1146/annurev-physiol-022516-034339

published in Annual Review of Physiology 79(1), 541-566 (Annual Reviews)

openalex publication_date 2016/11/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

Macrophage polarization refers to how macrophages have been activated at a given point in space and time. Polarization is not fixed, as macrophages are sufficiently plastic to integrate multiple signals, such as those from microbes, damaged tissues, and the normal tissue environment. Three broad pathways control polarization: epigenetic and cell survival pathways that prolong or shorten macrophage development and viability, the tissue microenvironment, and extrinsic factors, such as microbial products and cytokines released in inflammation. A plethora of advances have provided a framework for rationally purifying, describing, and manipulating macrophage polarization. Here, I assess the current state of knowledge about macrophage polarization and enumerate the major questions about how activated macrophages regulate the physiology of normal and damaged tissues.

Citations

• Comparative analysis of the efficiency and specificity of myeloid-Cre deleting strains using ROSA-EYFP reporter mice
• Highly Dynamic Transcriptional Signature of Distinct Macrophage Subsets during Sterile Inflammation, Resolution, and Tissue Repair

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