Background: As the mechanism of macrophage activation is not well-understood, standardization of an assay system for measuring phagocytic activities of macrophages will be useful for research on macrophages. Previously, we established a novel standardized macrophage-activating factor (MAF) assay system using U937.
Materials and methods: Using the human monocytic cell line THP-1, another standardized MAF assay system was established. Characteristic gene expression of U937- and THP-1-derived macrophages was compared by gene expression microarray analysis.
Results: Both U937- and THP-1-derived macrophages showed obvious phagocytic activities with unique characteristics and, therefore, could not be assigned to a single sub-type.
Conclusion: Activation of macrophages is an intricate cellular process. Comparison of our two novel assay systems provides new insights into macrophage activation mechanisms.
Keywords: Immunotherapy; THP-1 cell line; U937 cell line; macrophage-activating factor; phagocytic activity.
Copyright© 2015 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.