Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026
Culture of Macrophage Colony-stimulating Factor Differentiated Human Monocyte-derived Macrophages
Published on: June 30, 2016
Expression of complement components and regulators by different subtypes of bone marrow-derived macrophages
Chang Luo1, Mei Chen, Angelina Madden
1Centre for Vision and Vascular Science, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Grosvenor Road, BT12 6BA, Belfast, UK.
Insights
Macrophages exhibit distinct complement gene expression patterns during inflammation. Activated M1 and M2b macrophages show increased C3, C1INH, and CFB, suggesting a role in alternative complement pathway activation.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Macrophages are key immune cells that differentiate into various functional subtypes under inflammatory conditions.
- Complement system genes play crucial roles in immune responses and inflammation.
- Understanding macrophage functional plasticity and its relation to complement gene expression is vital for immune research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the constitutive and activation-dependent expression of complement-related genes in different macrophage subtypes.
- To determine how M1, M2a, M2b, and M2c macrophage polarization affects complement gene expression profiles.
- To elucidate the potential involvement of specific complement pathways in macrophage activation during inflammation.
Main Methods:
- Bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) were cultured and differentiated into M0 (resting), M1, M2a, M2b, and M2c subtypes using specific stimuli (IFN-γ, LPS, IC, IL-10, IL-4).
- Quantitative analysis of complement gene expression (including C1qb, Crry, CFH, C3, C1r, CFB, DAF1, CD59a, C2, C1INH, C1s, C4) was performed.
- Relative expression levels were compared across different macrophage subtypes and conditions.
Main Results:
- Constitutive expression of complement genes varied in resting BMDMs, with C1qb > Crry > CFH > C3 > C1r > CFB > DAF1 > CD59a > C2 > C1INH > C1s > C4.
- M1 and M2b macrophages showed up-regulated expression of C1r, C1s, C3, C2, CFB, and C1INH, and down-regulated CFH, CD59a, and DAF1.
- M2c macrophages exhibited slight up-regulation of C4 and CFH, while M2a macrophages showed weak down-regulation of complement genes compared to M0.
Conclusions:
- Macrophage polarization significantly alters the expression of complement-related genes.
- Elevated expression of C3, C1INH, and CFB, coupled with lower CFH in M1 and M2b macrophages, suggests their potential involvement in the alternative complement pathway during inflammation.
- These findings highlight the intricate relationship between macrophage functional states and complement system regulation in inflammatory responses.
Abstract:
Under inflammatory conditions, macrophages can differentiate into different functional subtypes. We show that bone marrow-derived macrophages constitutively express different levels of various complement-related genes. The relative expression levels are C1qb > Crry > CFH > C3 > C1r > CFB > DAF1 > CD59a > C2 > C1INH > C1s > C4. Upon activation, the expression of C1r, C1s, C3, C2, CFB, and C1INH was up-regulated, and CFH, CD59a, and DAF1, down-regulated in M1 (induced by interferon-γ + lipopolysaccharides (LPS)) and M2b (induced by immune complex + LPS) macrophages. The expression of C4 and CFH was slightly up-regulated in interleukin (IL)-10-induced M2c macrophages. Complement gene expression in IL-4-induced M2a macrophages was weakly down-regulated as compared to resting M0 macrophages. Higher levels of C3, C1INH, and CFB but lower levels of CFH expression in M1 and M2b macrophage suggests that they may be involved in the alternative pathway of complement activation during inflammation.
