Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 22, 2026
08:50
Depletion and Reconstitution of Macrophages in Mice
Published on: August 1, 2012
40.7K
Microbial metabolite butyrate facilitates M2 macrophage polarization and function
Jian Ji1,2, Dingming Shu1,2, Mingzhu Zheng3
1Institute of Animal Science, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 1 Dafeng 1st Street, Wushan, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Scientific Reports
|April 21, 2016
Summary
Gut microbes produce butyrate, which promotes M2 macrophage polarization. This finding offers new insights into inflammatory bowel disease and potential therapeutic strategies targeting gut bacteria.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Microbiology
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Intestinal microbes produce metabolites that modulate the immune system, particularly T cells.
- The impact of microbial metabolites on macrophage polarization remains largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether microbial metabolites influence macrophage polarization.
- To explore the role of butyrate, a gut microbial fermentation product, in macrophage polarization and its implications for intestinal inflammation.
Main Methods:
- In vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to assess butyrate's effect on macrophage polarization.
- Assays included analyzing M2 macrophage markers (e.g., Arg1), cell migration, and wound closure.
- The H3K9/STAT6 signaling pathway activation was examined in butyrate-treated M2 macrophages.
Main Results:
- Butyrate was shown to facilitate M2 macrophage polarization both in vitro and in vivo.
- Supernatant from butyrate-treated M2 macrophages enhanced MLE-12 cell migration and wound closure.
- Butyrate treatment attenuated dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice, increasing colonic Arg1 expression.
- Butyrate-treated M2 macrophages exhibited increased activation of the H3K9/STAT6 signaling pathway.
Conclusions:
- Commensal microbe-derived butyrate is identified as a novel activator of STAT6-mediated transcription.
- Butyrate drives M2 macrophage polarization through H3K9 acetylation.
- The study provides new insights into the immune interplay in inflammatory bowel disease, highlighting butyrate's therapeutic potential.
