Heterogeneity and function of macrophages in the breast during homeostasis and cancer

Eva Hadadi1, Sofie Deschoemaeker1, Gerard Vicente Venegas1

  • 1Myeloid Cell Immunology Lab, VIB Center for Inflammation Research, Brussels, Belgium; Lab of Cellular and Molecular Immunology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.

Macrophages are diverse immune cells populating all tissues and adopting a unique tissue-specific identity. Breast macrophages play an essential role in the development and function of the mammary gland over one's lifetime. In the recent years, with the development of fate-mapping, imaging and scRNA-seq technologies we grew a better understanding of the origin, heterogeneity and function of mammary macrophages in homeostasis but also during breast cancer development. Here, we aim to provide a comprehensive review of the latest improvements in studying the macrophage heterogeneity in healthy mammary tissues and breast cancer.

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