Macrophages
Macrophages - Related Videos
10:07
Investigation of Macrophage Polarization Using Bone Marrow Derived Macrophages
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Cited by 326 •
2013
The article describes a readily easy adaptive in vitro model to investigate macrophage polarization. In the presence of GM-CSF/M-CSF, hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells from the bone marrow are directed into monocytic differentiation, followed by M1 or M2 stimulation. The activation status can be tracked by changes in cell surface antigens, gene expression and cell signaling pathways.
06:46
Culture of Macrophage Colony-stimulating Factor Differentiated Human Monocyte-derived Macrophages
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Cited by 58 •
2016
A protocol is presented for cell culture of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) differentiated human monocyte-derived macrophages. The protocol utilizes cryopreservation of monocytes coupled with their bulk differentiation into macrophages. Then harvested macrophages can then be seeded into culture wells at required cell densities for carrying out experiments.
08:50
Depletion and Reconstitution of Macrophages in Mice
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Cited by 118 •
2012
Macrophages play a central role in homeostasis and pathology in many tissues. The protocol presented here describes methods for depleting macrophages in vivo, deriving polarized macrophages from bone marrow aspirates, and adoptively transferring macrophages into mice. These techniques allow determination of the role that polarized macrophages play in health and disease.
07:06
Bone Marrow-derived Macrophage Production
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Cited by 205 •
2013
Macrophages have long been recognized as a critical component of the innate and adaptive immune responses. The recent explosion of knowledge pertaining to evolutionary, genetic, and biochemical aspects of the interaction between macrophages and microbes has renewed scientific attention to macrophages. This article describes a method to differentiate macrophages from mouse bone marrow.
04:46
Assessment of Leishmania Virulence within Cultured Macrophages
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2025
This video investigates Leishmania's virulence by treating macrophages with metacyclic promastigotes, resulting in the formation of intracellular amastigotes. The confirmation of Leishmania's virulence is achieved through nucleic acid fluorescent dye staining. This insight can contribute to the development of new therapies for leishmaniasis.
FAQs
Pattern-recognition receptors allow macrophages to detect danger signals associated with pathogens or tissue damage and initiate a coordinated response. Recognition can direct the cell toward target internalization, intracellular processing, cytokine release, or communication with adaptive immune cells. This receptor-driven sequence helps determine whether the resulting response emphasizes pathogen control, inflammation, or restoration of tissue homeostasis.
After phagocytosis, the internalized material is processed in a phagolysosome, a compartment enriched in digestive enzymes and reactive oxygen. These conditions help destroy and break down the target. Macrophages can then contribute to immune coordination by releasing cytokines and presenting resulting antigenic information to adaptive immune cells, linking intracellular processing with broader host defense.
Activation states influence how macrophages balance antimicrobial defense, inflammation, and tissue repair. A response that is insufficient may fail to control infection, whereas harmful or poorly regulated activity can contribute to damaging inflammation. Comparing these states helps researchers investigate disease progression and identify ways to modulate immune responses without treating macrophage activity as uniformly beneficial or harmful.
Macrophages connect these two arms of immunity through both early danger sensing and antigen presentation. Their initial responses to pathogens or damaged tissue occur within innate defense, while presentation of processed antigenic material can provide information to adaptive immune cells. This connection makes macrophages important for studying how local infection responses influence subsequent immune coordination.
Researchers can examine how macrophages recognize a pathogen, internalize it, process it in phagolysosomes, and alter cytokine release during the encounter. They can also evaluate antigen presentation and changes in activation state. Together, these observations reveal how cellular responses affect pathogen control, inflammation, tissue damage, and the progression of infection.
Macrophage research informs several therapeutic goals, including vaccine development, anti-infective treatment, and modulation of damaging or inadequate immune responses. Their involvement in pathogen handling, cytokine production, antigen presentation, inflammation, repair, and homeostasis provides multiple points for investigating disease mechanisms. These studies can clarify whether changing macrophage activity might improve host defense or limit harmful inflammation.