Macrophage polarization and future perspectives: a comprehensive review

Abstract

Abstract Macrophage polarization is an important phenomenon that underlies various physiological mechanisms protective to the host and pathological mechanisms manipulated by microbes, thus we need to come to terms with this phenomenon and understand it at the molecular level. This paper highlights various aspects of macrophage activation and polarization starting from the discovery of macrophages to the latest advancements like using algorithms to determine polarization in a marker-free manner. We have covered macrophage polarization in response to various stimuli and also how this is affected in various disease conditions. Macrophage polarization in many neurodegenerative diseases has also been covered in this review. Various methods used for detecting and quantifying this phenomenon have been discussed below. It has been noted that our understanding of this phenomenon may lead to many novel therapeutic approaches in dealing with a varied set of disease pathologies making it extremely valuable for clinical practice. Newer technological advancements in the field have the potential to act as diagnostic tools for various diseases. In this paper, we have tried to summarize the existing information on macrophage polarization and activation to understand the progress we have made in understanding this phenomenon. Graphical Abstract

Keywords

• Macrophage polarization
• Activation
• Inos
• Arginase
• Neurodegenerative diseases
• Plasticity