HIF-1α is required to differentiate the neonatal Macrophage protein secretome from adults

Amanda Becker1, Mallory Filipp2, Connor Lantz2

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60611 USA.

Cellular Immunology
|August 4, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Neonatal macrophages promote regeneration and protect against stress, while adult macrophages drive inflammation and pathogen killing. These age-dependent immune responses are regulated by hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α).

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Cell Biology
  • Aging Research

Background:

  • Immune responses to stress, particularly involving macrophages, differ significantly between neonatal and adult individuals.
  • Macrophage stress responses involve recognizing hypoxia and pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), but age-specific differences are not well understood.
  • Neonatal macrophages are linked to tissue regeneration, whereas adult macrophages are associated with scarring and inflammation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate age-defined differences in macrophage secreted proteins following exposure to hypoxia and PAMPs.
  • To uncover age-specific signatures in macrophage secretomes and understand their role in stress response.
  • To explore the potential of targeting these age-dependent responses for immune calibration.

Main Methods:

  • Interrogation of secreted proteomes from neonatal versus adult macrophages using non-biased mass spectrometry.
  • Exposure of macrophages to hypoxia and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a prototypical PAMP.
  • Analysis of age-specific protein signatures and their functional implications.

Main Results:

  • Identified distinct age-specific secretome signatures in macrophages responding to hypoxia and LPS.
  • Neonatal macrophages exhibited an anti-inflammatory, regenerative phenotype, protected against apoptosis and oxidative stress, dependent on hypoxia-inducible transcription factor-1α (HIF-1α).
  • Adult macrophages displayed a pro-inflammatory, glycolytic phenotype associated with pathogen killing.

Conclusions:

  • Macrophage responses to stress are fundamentally divergent based on age and are HIF-1α dependent.
  • Neonatal macrophages support regeneration, while adult macrophages focus on pathogen clearance.
  • These findings offer potential targets for modulating innate immune responses during stress and inflammation.