Effect of connexin 43 in LPS/IL-4-induced macrophage M1/M2 polarization: An observational study

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) play important roles in inducing M1 and M2 macrophage polarization. Studies have shown that LPS can promote the polarization of macrophages to M1-type and produce many pro-inflammatory cytokines, while IL-4 can promote the polarization of macrophages to M2-type and produce many anti-inflammatory cytokines. Moreover, Connexin 43 (Cx43) is widely expressed in macrophages and has various regulatory functions. However, whether Cx43 is involved in the regulation of macrophage M1/M2 polarization has not been fully studied. This study examined the role of Cx43 and M2 polarization markers using Western blot, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry. Cx43 overexpression was induced using Cx43 overexpressing lentivirus. The statistical software SPSS 20.0 (IBM Corp.) and GraphPad Prism 8.0 (GraphPad Software, La Jolla, CA, United States) were used to analyze the results. P values < .05 were considered to indicate statistically significant differences. Our results showed that LPS promotes the polarization of macrophages to M1-type, which is accompanied by an increase in Cx43 expression from 0 to 24 hours. Moreover, the application of the Cx43-specific blockers Gap19 and Gap26 reduces the expression of macrophage M1-type polarization markers. Thus, the expression of Cx43 increases first, and then, due to the initiation of intracellular autophagy during LPS-induced macrophage M1 polarization. Cx43 is degraded and the expression of Cx43 decreases from 24 hours to 48 hours. IL-4 decreases the expression of Cx43 from 24 hours to 48 hours and promotes the transformation of macrophages to M2-type. The application of Cx43 overexpression lentivirus leads to a reduction in the expression of M2 polarization markers. IL-4-induced M2 polarization of macrophages inhibits cell autophagy, reducing Cx43 degradation and leading to an increase in Cx43 from 24 hours to 48 hours. Thus, Cx43 expression in M2-type polarization experiences a reduction at first and then an increase from 24 hours to 48 hours. The direction of macrophage polarization can be controlled by regulating the expression of Cx43, thus providing a theoretical basis for treating atherosclerosis, tumors, and other diseases associated with macrophage polarization.