The immunomodulatory effects of soluble receptor of activated nuclear factor kappa ligand (sRANKL) on monocyte-derived macrophages

To explore the effects of sRANKL on tumor-associated macrophages, we first sorted CD14+ monocytes from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy donors using magnetic-activated cell sorting and then induced their differentiation into macrophages by culture with M-CSF for 5 days. We then stimulated these macrophages with IL-4 (20 ng/ml) together with or without 100 ng/ml of sRANKL for 6 hours and examined gene expression using a cDNA microarray. sRANKL stimulated gene expression on monocyte-derived macrophages was measured at 6 hours after exposure to doses of 100 ng/ml sRANKL.