The immunomodulatory effects of IL-4 on monocyte-derived macrophages

To explore the effects of IL-4 on tumor-associated macrophagess, 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 or without IL-4 (20 ng/ml) for 6 hours and examined gene expression using a cDNA microarray. IL-4 stimulated gene expression on monocyte-derived macrophages was measured at 6 hours after exposure to doses of 20 ng/ml IL-4.