Macrophage heterogeneity: a personal scientific journey

Although already evident from the earliest days of macrophage research, the diversity of macrophage distribution, morphology, and function continues to attract immunologists interested in their role in physiology and disease. Contemporary tools of cellular and molecular analysis have begun to unravel their versatile and adaptable gene expression, the result of differentiation and modulation by their environment. In this brief account, I outline the history of my personal involvement in this subject.