A Systematic Approach to Identify Markers of Distinctly Activated Human Macrophages.

Polarization has been a useful concept for describing activated macrophage phenotypes and gene expression profiles. However, macrophage activation status within tumors and other settings are often inferred based on only a few markers. Complicating matters for relevance to human biology, many macrophage activation markers have been best characterized in mice and sometimes are not similarly regulated in human macrophages.

Regulation of activation-associated microRNA accumulation rates during monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation.

Circulating monocytes recruited to tissues can differentiate into macrophages and adopt unique gene expression programs in response to environmental cues. We recently described the regulated expression of several microRNAs (miRNAs) in polarized human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs). Basal expression of these activation-associated miRNAs was low in monocytes relative to MDMs.

Leukocytes infiltrate the skin and draining lymph nodes in response to the protozoan Leishmania infantum chagasi.

The vector-borne protozoan Leishmania infantum chagasi causes minimal inflammation after inoculation into skin but disseminates to cause fatal visceral leishmaniasis. To define the inflammatory response at the parasite inoculation site, we introduced metacyclic L. infantum chagasi promastigotes intradermally into BALB/c mouse ears and studied inflammatory cells over 7 days.

Leishmania chagasi: homogenous metacyclic promastigotes isolated by buoyant density are highly virulent in a mouse model.

Homogenous metacyclic promastigotes of Leishmania chagasi were isolated by buoyant density from in vitro heterogeneous cultures and used for biochemical characterization of isoforms of the major surface protease (MSP). Compared to stationary phase promastigotes, metacyclic cells had three times more MSP, produced 3-fold higher parasite loads in a mouse model in vivo, and were more resistant to complement-mediated lysis in vitro. These metacyclic L.

Identification of a repressor in the first intron of the human alpha2(I) collagen gene (COL1A2).

The human and mouse genes that code for the alpha2 chain of collagen I (COL1A2 and Col1a2, respectively) share a common chromatin structure and nearly identical proximal promoter and far upstream enhancer sequences. Despite these homologies, species-specific differences have been reported regarding the function of individual cis-acting elements, such as the first intron sequence. In the present study, we have investigated the transcriptional contribution of the unique open chromatin site in the first intron of COL1A2 using a transgenic mouse model.