Differential expression patterns of MafB and c-Maf in macrophages in vivo and in vitro

The large Maf transcription factors c-Maf and MafB are expressed in macrophage-lineage hematopoietic cells, but the expression patterns of MafB and c-Maf in macrophage subtypes and tissue-resident macrophages have not been fully analyzed. First, we analyzed MafB and c-Maf protein expression in tissue-resident macrophages. Mouse lymph nodes, spleens, lungs, and kidneys were subjected to immunohistochemistry using anti-MafB and anti-c-Maf. Both MafB and c-Maf signals were observed in lymph node macrophages. In the splenic macrophages the MafB signal was detected by anti-MafB, but the c-Maf signal was not detected. No expression of c-Maf or MafB was detected in macrophages in the lung and kidney. Flow cytometry analysis revealed a similar pattern of GFP expression in Mafb/GFP knock-in heterozygous mice. To analyze these different expression patterns in greater detail, we examined the expression of MafB and c-Maf by quantitative RT-PCR in different cytokine- or LPS-induced macrophages in vitro. MafB expression was induced by IL-10 or IL-4 with IL-13 and was reduced by LPS or GM-CSF. By contrast, c-Maf expression was induced by IL-10 and reduced by IL-4 with IL-13 or GM-CSF. These results indicate that MafB and c-Maf have different expression patterns in macrophages, suggesting differences in function.