Macrophage ontogeny and functional diversity in cardiometabolic diseases

Abstract

Macrophages are the dominant immune cell types in the adipose tissue, the liver or the aortic wall and they were originally believed to mainly derived from monocytes to fuel tissue inflammation in cardiometabolic diseases. However, over the last decade the identification of tissue resident macrophages (trMacs) from embryonic origin in these metabolic tissues has provided a breakthrough in the field forcing to better comprehend macrophage diversity during pathological states. Infiltrated monocyte-derived macrophages (moMacs), similar to trMacs, adapt to the local metabolic environment that eventually shapes their functions. In this review, we will summarize the emerging versatility of macrophages in cardiometabolic diseases with a focus in the control of adipose tissue, liver and large vessels homeostasis.

Keywords: Cardiometabolic diseases; Immunometabolism; Macrophage diversity.