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Updated: Aug 26, 2025

Studying the Effects of Tumor-Secreted Paracrine Ligands on Macrophage Activation using Co-Culture with Permeable Membrane Supports
Published on: November 28, 2019
The role of exosomes in the tumour microenvironment on macrophage polarisation
Jing Wang1, Runmin Long2, Yunwei Han3
1Department of Blood Transfusion, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, Sichuan, China.
Abstract:
Macrophages are highly heterogeneous immune cells that play an important role in the tumour microenvironment (TME). After being stimulated differently in the TME, macrophages can be polarised into the M1 phenotype to exhibit an anti-tumour effect or the M2 phenotype to exhibit a tumour-promoting effect. There are a large number of exosomes in the TME that can transmit information between cells and regulate the polarisation of macrophages, thereby affecting tumour invasion, metastasis, and treatment. This review introduces some of the pathways involved in M1/M2 macrophage polarisation and the effects of substances carried by exosomes from different sources in the TME on macrophage polarisation, especially microRNAs (miRNAs).
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