Differential Activation of Macrophages Based on Their Environment in Advanced Age

Da Young Lee; Jae Sung Lim; Kyung A Cho

doi:10.4068/cmj.2020.56.1.12

Differential Activation of Macrophages Based on Their Environment in Advanced Age

Chonnam Med J. 2020 Jan;56(1):12-19. doi: 10.4068/cmj.2020.56.1.12. Epub 2020 Jan 22.

Authors

Da Young Lee^{1

2}, Jae Sung Lim^{1

3}, Kyung A Cho^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biochemistry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea.
² Center for Creative Biomedical Scientists, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea.
³ Combinatorial Tumor Immunotherapy Medical Research Center, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea.

Abstract

The macrophage displays functional and phenotypic diversity, which appears, in no small part, to stem from the ability of macrophages to adapt functionally to changes in their tissue microenvironment. Here, we describe the differential activity of peritoneal macrophages with or without the presence of thioglycollate (TG), an inflammatory drug that encouraged the recruitment of macrophages, during aging. The peritoneal-resident macrophages dramatically reduced in phagocytosis and pro-inflammatory cytokines secretion with aging, whereas the functions of macrophages recruited by TG were not significantly changed with aging. These results suggest that macrophages may be changed by their environment in advanced age, and could provide possible explanations for the controversial results regarding differential changes in macrophages in other papers.

Keywords: Environment; Inflammation; Macrophages; Thioglycollate.