RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line as a metabolomic model for analyzing and understanding inflammation processes

The functionality of cellular models to provide relevant and functional information has been demonstrated. Several stimuli can result in intracellular changes that can be tracked through omics sciences, such as metabolomics, a valuable tool for characterizing and quantifying metabolic changes associated. RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line is a polarizable immune cell, making it a classic cellular model for the analysis of inflammatory processes, diverse stimuli provide an overview of the cell-stimulus interaction. Although the procedures for conducting a metabolomic study, from the collection of treated cells to the obtention of the data generated, have not yet become widespread, most research using this cell line indicates that there are common metabolites, and their variation in the metabolic pathways could be fundamental for performance and function of the immune cell. Thus, in this review, we describe the application of RAW 264.7 macrophages as a metabolomic model, highlighting the sample collection processes, commonly used analytical methods, software for data analysis, multivariate analysis used for the characterization of metabolites and how these changes can help to understand inflammatory processes.