Home > Browse Issues > Vol.29 No.1
The Polarization of Macrophages and Its Significance
Feng Zhang, Si-Dong Xiong*
Institute for Immunobiology, Department of Immunology of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
Abstract: Plasticity and functional polarization are hallmarks of the mononuclear phagocyte system. Recent studies show that fully polarized M1 and M2 (or alternatively activated) macrophages are the extremes of a continuum of functional states. Moreover， the differentiation of monocytes is induced and regulated by microenvironmental factors. And polarized macrophages， interacting with other local molecules can regulate the immunoreactions against microbial pathogens and tumors. Knowledge about the characteristics and inducer of macrophage subsets would help to know more about the regulation of immune response.
CN
EN