A Critical Role of Activin A in Maturation of Mouse Peritoneal Macrophages in vitro and in vivo

Abstract

Activin A, a multifunctional factor of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-) superfamily, is mainly produced by microglia and macrophages, and its anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory activities are both related to macrophage functions. However the direct effect of activin A on the rest macrophages in vivo remains unclear. In the present study, the results showed that activin A not only increased NO and IL-1 release, but also promoted phagocytic abilities of mouse peritoneal macrophages in vitro and in vivo, whereas it did not influence MHC I and MHC II expression. Moreover, we found that activin A significantly upregulated the expressions of CD14 and CD68, markers of mature macrophages, on the surface of macrophages in vitro and in vivo. These data suggest that activin A can induce primary macrophage maturation in vitro and in vivo, but may not trigger the acquired immune response via regulating expression of MHC molecules involved in presentation of antigen.

Characterization of murine macrophages from bone marrow, spleen and peritoneum

“…PMs had high level MHC II and CD86 expression, whereas BMs had high level CD115 and GR-1 expression. MHC II and CD86 are expressed highly on fully functional macrophages, which also indicates their maturity [27,28]. CD115 and Gr1 are usually expressed on precursors of monocytes and macrophages, indicating that the cells are less differentiated and more immature [29].…”

Expression and preliminary functional analysis of Siglec-F on mouse macrophages

“…In phagocytosis experiments on activated macrophages, before incubation with the Siglec-F Ab, alveolar macrophages were cultured in medium containing LPS (1 μg/ml) and/or TNF-α (20 ng/ml) for 24 h. Alveolar macrophages were co-incubated with apoptotic thymocytes for 90 min at 37 °C before being washed with PBS, fixed with methyl alcohol, and stained with H&E. Phagocytosis was evaluated by counting 200 macrophages per well. Results were expressed as percent phagocytosis and phagocytosis index (Wang et al, 2009). Percent phagocytosis was calculated from the percentage of the number of macrophages containing at least one ingested thymocyte to the number of macrophages.…”

Novel synthetic curcumin analogs as potent antiangiogenic agents in colorectal cancer

“…In CRC, chronic inflammation due to alterations in the gut microbiome or due to inflammatory bowel disease is known to lead to cancer with NF‐κB activation having a central role in carcinogenesis in these scenarios . Furthermore, the NF‐κB pathway has been associated with tumor progression due to the promotion of tumor growth and invasiveness . Angiogenesis is driven by cytokines and growth factors that regulate endothelial cell growth, migration and survival .…”