Monocytes and macrophages regulate host immune system against infectious pathogens. Activated macrophages play an important role in restricting the multiplication and dissemination of pathogens. The concept of alternative activation of macrophages might provide useful insights into pathology of infectious diseases. M1 macrophages (classically activated macrophages) and M2 macrophages (alternatively activated macrophages) are associated with responses to tissue remodeling, pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory reactions in various infectious diseases. However, the relevance of macrophage polarization in several infectious diseases was not revealed clearly. Macrophage plasticity and polarization should be considered as a useful conceptual framework for understanding the unknown pathogenesis of infectious diseases. Here we reviewed the recent progress on macrophage polarization and its characters in infectious diseases.
Communicable Diseases ; Immune System ; Macrophages* ; Monocytes ; Pathology ; Plastics

Monocytes are important target cells of various hemorrhagic fever viruses. In viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs), monocytes can be infected by viruses and produce different kinds of cytokines, which contribute to the antiviral immune response and participation in the immunopathogenesis of VHFs. During the pathogenesis of various VHFs (early stage), monocytes change in cell counting, subpopulation distribution and expression of surface molecules with an activated phenotype. Several hemorrhagic fever viruses can infect monocytes and induce immune response, which may play an important role in immunopathological injury. Monocytes and the cytokines they produce may interact with platelets and vascular endothelial cells, contributing to disease progression.
Humans ; Monocytes ; Endothelial Cells ; Hemorrhagic Fevers, Viral/pathology* ; Immunity ; Cytokines

A micropipette aspiration technique was adopted in this study on the viscoelastic properties of phagocytes of atherosclerotic origin. A standard linear solid model (Kelvin model) was employed to fit the experimental data, and the 3 viscoelastic coefficients of the model were used to compare the mechanical properties of the phagocytes in different phases during atherosclerosis development. The experimental results indicated that prior to the formation of atherosclerosis, the deformability of the macrophages matured from monocytes decreased, and their rigidity increased. At the initial stage of atherosclerosis formation, the deformability of the foam-cells decreased further. We believe that the deterioration in the deformability of the cells might reduce their mobility within the arterial wall, thus leading to the genesis of atherosclerosis caused by the stagnation and accumulation of the cells laden with atherogenic lipids within the arterial wall. This finding may have important implication in the researches on arteriosclerosis.
Animals ; Atherosclerosis ; pathology ; Elasticity ; Linear Models ; Male ; Monocytes ; pathology ; Phagocytes ; pathology ; Rabbits ; Random Allocation ; Viscosity

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influence of lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on the prognosis of patients with extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma (ENKTL). METHODS: The clinical data of 203 patients with ENKTL admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2011 to January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The ROC curve determined the limit values of LMR and NLR; Categorical variables were compared using a chi-square test, expressed as frequency and percentage (n,%). Continuous variables were expressed as medians and extremes and compared with the Mann-Whitney U test; Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of different grouped LMR and NLR patients were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves and compared with log-rank tests. The COX proportional risk regression model was used to perform one-factor and multi-factor analysis of PFS and OS. RESULTS: The optimal critical values of LMR and NLR were determined by the ROC curve, which were 2.60 and 3.40, respectively. LMR≤2.60 was more likely to occur in patients with bone marrow invasion (P=0.029) and higher LDH (P=0.036), while NLR≥3.40 was more likely to occur in patients with higher ECOG scores (P=0.002), higher LDH (P=0.008), higher blood glucose (P=0.024), and lower PLT (P=0.010). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that PFS and OS of patients in the high LMR group were significantly better than the low LMR group, while PFS and OS in the low NLR group were significantly better than the high NLR group. The results of multivariate COX analysis showed that EBV-DNA positive (P=0.047), LMR≤2.60 (P=0.014), NLR≥3.40 (P=0.023) were independent risk factors affecting PFS in patients with ENKTL. LMR≤2.60 (P<0.001), NLR≥3.40 (P=0.048), and high β2-MG (P=0.013) were independent risk factors affecting OS in patients with ENKTL. CONCLUSION Low LMR and high NLR before treatment are associated with poor prognosis in patients with ENKTL, which also can be used as an easily testable, inexpensive, and practical prognostic indicator in the clinic.
Humans ; Monocytes/pathology* ; Neutrophils ; Lymphoma, Extranodal NK-T-Cell/pathology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Lymphocytes ; Prognosis

MonoMAC syndrome is a newly discovered immune deficiency syndrome caused by GATA-2 mutation, which is an autosomal dominant genetic disease. MonoMAC syndrome has typical immune cell abnormalities, with severe infection and is prone to develop into a hematological disease. Therapeutics for this disease mainly relies on symptomatic treatment and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In this paper, the research advances in clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of MonoMAC syndrome are reviewed.
GATA2 Transcription Factor ; genetics ; Humans ; Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes ; genetics ; Monocytes ; pathology ; Mutation ; Mycobacterium Infections ; etiology ; Syndrome

OBJECTIVETo investigate clinical implications of expression of CD40L in monocytes and changes in serum soluble CD40L in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS).

METHODSSixteen control and 56 patients, including 24 with stable angina (SA), 20 with unstable angina (UA) and 12 with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) enrolled in this study. Expression of CD40L in monocytes was analyzed by flow cytometry and sCD40L levels were measured by ELISA.

RESULTSExpression of CD40L in monocytes and serum levels of sCD40L in UA and AMI patients were higher than in SA patients and controls. In patients with AMI, sCD40L levels showed no significant increase when compared to patients with UA, while AMI patients had a peak level of sCD40L at 24 hours after AMI. PTCA induced a marked rise in sCD40L levels in all patients, while CD40L expression in monocytes showed no difference between patients with PTCA, before and after.

CONCLUSIONEnhanced level of serum sCD40L may be a reliable prognostic indicator for ACS and may represent a marker of coronary disease activity.

Angina Pectoris ; blood ; pathology ; CD40 Ligand ; blood ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Monocytes ; metabolism ; Myocardial Infarction ; blood ; pathology

Objective To investigate the clinical value of preoperative lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio(LMR)in evaluating the prognosis of patients with stage T1 non-muscle invasive bladder cancer(NMIBC).Methods A total of 215 patients with stage T1 NMIBC who underwent transurethral resection of bladder tumor were enrolled.Clinical data were collected.Patients were followed up and their disease-free survival(DFS)and overall survival(OS)were recorded.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve of preoperative LMR in detecting patient prognosis was used to determine the optimal cut-off value for LMR.Patients were divided into low LMR group(LMR <3.86,=77)and high LMR group(LMR ≥ 3.86,=138).Kaplan-Meier survival curves were explored to compare cumulative DFS and OS rates in patients with different LMR levels,and COX proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze factors associated with DFS and OS.Results All these 215 patients with T1 stage NMIBC were followed up for 2-92 months,and the DFS rate was 59.07% and OS rate was 65.12%.Kaplan-Meier curves showed that the cumulative DFS rate(=4.784,=0.029)and cumulative OS rate(=7.146, =0.008)in the low LMR group were significantly lower than those in the high LMR group.Tumor size ≥ 3 cm(=1.398,95% :1.042-1.875,=0.025),pathological grade G3(=1.266,95% :1.026-1.563,=0.028),and LMR ≥ 3.86(=2.347,95% :1.080-5.101,=0.031)were independent factors associated with DFS in patients with stage T NMIBC.In addition,tumor size ≥ 3 cm(=1.228,95% :1.015-1.484,=0.034),pathological grade G3(=1.366,95% :1.017-1.834,=0.038),and LMR<3.86(=2.008,95% :1.052-3.832,=0.035)were independent factors associated with OS in patients with T1 stage NMIBC. Conclusion Preoperative LMR is an independent factor associated with patients' prognosis in T1 stage NIMBC.Patients with low LMR tend to have higher risk of NMIBC progression and death.
Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Lymphocytes ; cytology ; Monocytes ; cytology ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; pathology

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Classical M1 macrophage activation exhibits an inflammatory phenotype while alternative M2 macrophage activation exhibits an anti-inflammatory phenotype. We aimed to determine whether there are discriminant patterns of macrophage polarization in Crohn's disease (CD) and intestinal tuberculosis (iTB). METHODS: Colonic mucosal biopsies from 29 patients with iTB, 50 with CD, and 19 controls were examined. Dual colored immunohistochemistry was performed for iNOS/CD68 (an M1φ marker) and CD163/CD68 (an M2φ marker), and the ratio of M1φ to M2φ was assessed. To establish the innate nature of macrophage polarization, we analyzed the extent of mitochondrial depolarization, a key marker of inflammatory responses, in monocyte-derived macrophages obtained from CD and iTB patients, following interferon-γ treatment. RESULTS: M1φ polarization was more prominent in CD biopsies (P=0.002) than in iTB (P=0.2) and control biopsies. In granuloma-positive biopsies, including those in CD, M1φ predominance was significant (P=0.001). In iTB, the densities of M1φ did not differ between granuloma-positive and granuloma-negative biopsies (P=0.1). Interestingly, higher M1φ polarization in CD biopsies correlated with high inflammatory response exhibited by peripheral blood-derived monocytes from these patients. CONCLUSIONS: Proinflammatory M1φ polarization was more common in colonic mucosa of CD patients, especially in the presence of mucosal granulomas. Further characterization of the innate immune system could help in clarifying the pathology of iTB and CD.
Biopsy ; Colon ; Crohn Disease* ; Granuloma ; Humans ; Immune System ; Immunohistochemistry ; Macrophage Activation ; Macrophages* ; Monocytes ; Mucous Membrane ; Pathology ; Phenotype ; Tuberculosis*

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of umbilical cord blood monocytes (UCBMC) transplantation on erythropoietin (EPO) protein and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in hypoxia-ischemia (HI) neonatal rats.

METHODSForty seven-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal control (N), HI, UCBMC and HI+UCBMC groups (n=10 each). Hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) model was prepared according to the Rice method. Twenty-four hours after hypoxia, the N and HI groups were injected with 2 μL phosphate buffered saline (PBS), and the UCBMC and HI+UCBMC groups were injected with 3×10(6) UCBMC via the lateral ventricle. EPO protein and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in the subventricular zone of the injured brain were observed by EPO/DAPI and NG2/DAPI immunofluorescence double staining, and their correlation was analyzed.

RESULTSSeven days after transplantation, there were more NG2(+)DAPI(+) and EPO(+)DAPI(+) cells in the HI+UCBMC group than in the UCBMC (P<0.05), N and HI groups (P<0.01). More NG2(+)DAPI(+) and EPO(+)DAPI(+) cells were observed in the UCBMC group compared with the N and HI groups (P<0.01). There were more NG2(+)DAPI(+) cells in the N group than in the HI group (P<0.01). The number of NG2(+)DAPI(+) cells was correlated with the number of EPO(+)DAPI(+) cells in the HI+UCBMC group (r=0.898, β=1.4604, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSUCBMC can promote expression of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells, which is correlated with an increase in EPO protein and thus repairs brain white matter damage in neonatal rats with HIBD.

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Erythropoietin ; analysis ; biosynthesis ; Fetal Blood ; cytology ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain ; metabolism ; pathology ; therapy ; Monocytes ; transplantation ; Oligodendroglia ; pathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Stem Cells ; pathology

Deficits in the clearance of amyloid β protein (Aβ) by the peripheral system play a critical role in the pathogenesis of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). Impaired uptake of Aβ by dysfunctional monocytes is deemed to be one of the major mechanisms underlying deficient peripheral Aβ clearance in AD. In the current study, flow cytometry and biochemical and behavioral techniques were applied to investigate the effects of polysaccharide krestin (PSK) on AD-related pathology in vitro and in vivo. We found that PSK, widely used in therapy for various cancers, has the potential to enhance Aβ uptake and intracellular processing by human monocytes in vitro. After administration of PSK by intraperitoneal injection, APP/PS1 mice performed better in behavioral tests, along with reduced Aβ deposition, neuroinflammation, neuronal loss, and tau hyperphosphorylation. These results suggest that PSK holds promise as a preventive agent for AD by strengthening the Aβ clearance by blood monocytes and alleviating AD-like pathology.
Alzheimer Disease/pathology* ; Amyloid beta-Peptides/metabolism* ; Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor/metabolism* ; Animals ; Cognition ; Disease Models, Animal ; Mice ; Mice, Transgenic ; Monocytes/pathology* ; Polysaccharides/therapeutic use* ; Proteoglycans