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Review
. 2023 Jan 30;24(3):2613.
doi: 10.3390/ijms24032613.

Macrophage Phenotyping in Atherosclerosis by Proteomics

Sonia Eligini  1 , Erica Gianazza  1 , Alice Mallia  1   2 , Stefania Ghilardi  1 , Cristina Banfi  1
Affiliations
Review

Macrophage Phenotyping in Atherosclerosis by Proteomics

Sonia Eligini et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Macrophages are heterogeneous and plastic cells, able to adapt their phenotype and functions to changes in the microenvironment. They are involved in several homeostatic processes and also in many human diseases, including atherosclerosis, where they participate in all the stages of the disease. For these reasons, macrophages have been studied extensively using different approaches, including proteomics. Proteomics, indeed, may be a powerful tool to better understand the behavior of these cells, and a careful analysis of the proteome of different macrophage phenotypes can help to better characterize the role of these phenotypes in atherosclerosis and provide a broad view of proteins that might potentially affect the course of the disease. In this review, we discuss the different proteomic techniques that have been used to delineate the proteomic profile of macrophage phenotypes and summarize some results that can help to elucidate the roles of macrophages and develop new strategies to counteract the progression of atherosclerosis and/or promote regression.

Keywords: atherosclerotic plaque; macrophage; proteomics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Macrophage phenotypes in atherosclerotic plaque. The different microenvironments present in atherosclerotic plaque drive the differentiation of infiltrated monocytes toward different macrophage phenotypes. TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor-α; IFN-γ, interferon-ϒ; GM-CSF, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating-factor; LPS, lipopolysaccharides; IL-4, interleukin-4; IL-13, interleukin-13; M-CSF, macrophage colony-stimulating factor.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Different techniques to study macrophage phenotypes. IHC/IF, immunohistochemistry/immunofluorescence; NMR, nuclear magnetic resonance; CyTOF, cytometry by time of flight.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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