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New insights into the multidimensional concept of macrophage ontogeny, activation and function

Nature Immunology volume 17, pages 34–40 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

Macrophages have protective roles in immunity to pathogens, tissue development, homeostasis and repair following damage. Maladaptive immunity and inflammation provoke changes in macrophage function that are causative of disease. Despite a historical wealth of knowledge about macrophages, recent advances have revealed unknown aspects of their development and function. Following development, macrophages are activated by diverse signals. Such tissue microenvironmental signals together with epigenetic changes influence macrophage development, activation and functional diversity, with consequences in disease and homeostasis. We discuss here how recent discoveries in these areas have led to a multidimensional concept of macrophage ontogeny, activation and function. In connection with this, we also discuss how technical advances facilitate a new roadmap for the isolation and analysis of macrophages at high resolution.

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Figure 1: Integrative multidimensional model of macrophage activation.
Figure 2: Integration of new high-resolution technologies in studying macrophage activation.

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Acknowledgements

F.G. and S.K.B. are supported by core funding from the Singapore Immunology Network (A*STAR).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore

    Florent Ginhoux & Subhra K Biswas

  2. Genomics & Immunoregulation, LIMES (Life & Medical Sciences) Institute, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    Joachim L Schultze

  3. German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, Germany

    Joachim L Schultze

  4. Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

    Peter J Murray

  5. Department of Immunology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

    Peter J Murray

  6. Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA

    Jordi Ochando

  7. Immunología de Trasplantes, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain

    Jordi Ochando

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  1. Florent Ginhoux
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  2. Joachim L Schultze
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  3. Peter J Murray
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  5. Subhra K Biswas
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All authors contributed equally to this work.

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Correspondence to Florent Ginhoux, Joachim L Schultze, Peter J Murray, Jordi Ochando or Subhra K Biswas.

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Ginhoux, F., Schultze, J., Murray, P. et al. New insights into the multidimensional concept of macrophage ontogeny, activation and function. Nat Immunol 17, 34–40 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.3324

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