Urotensin II upregulates migration and cytokine gene expression in leukocytes of the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis

Adipose tissue macrophages develop from bone marrow–independent progenitors in Xenopus laevis and mouse

“…To assess whether Xenopus ATMs can adopt an M1-like activation state, we challenged Xenopus ATMs in vitro with either pI:pC for 4 h or LPS for 6 and 18 h and measured the transcription of genes that encode inflammatory mediators and receptors that are known to initiate pathogen clearance in Xenopus. These genes include nos2 and ifng (IFN-g), which are produced by Xenopus Mfs in response to viral and bacterial infection [29,30], and mif (Mf inhibitory factor-1), which is linked to the activation of leukocyte migration in Xenopus [31]. We found that pI:pC treatment increased nos2 and mif transcription (Supplemental Fig.…”