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Updated: Aug 21, 2026

Investigation of Macrophage Polarization Using Bone Marrow Derived Macrophages
Published on: June 23, 2013
The chemokine system in diverse forms of macrophage activation and polarization
Alberto Mantovani1, Antonio Sica, Silvano Sozzani
1Centro di Eccellenza per l'Innovazione Diagnostica e Terapeutica (IDET), Institute of General Pathology, University of Milan, I-20133 Milan, Italy; Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, I-20157 Milan, Italy. mantovani@narionegri.it
Abstract:
Plasticity and functional polarization are hallmarks of the mononuclear phagocyte system. Here we review emerging key properties of different forms of macrophage activation and polarization (M1, M2a, M2b, M2c), which represent extremes of a continuum. In particular, recent evidence suggests that differential modulation of the chemokine system integrates polarized macrophages in pathways of resistance to, or promotion of, microbial pathogens and tumors, or immunoregulation, tissue repair and remodeling.
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