Increased Extracellular Fluid Viscosity Drives M2-like Macrophage Polarization to Promote Breast Cancer Progression and Immunotherapy Resistance-Data

This dataset contains the raw and processed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data generated from murine RAW264.7 macrophages cultured under different extracellular fluid (ECF) viscosity conditions. This study investigates the mechanobiological role of ECF viscosity in driving M2-like macrophage polarization and its implications in breast cancer progression and immunotherapy resistance. Background: Macrophages are key immune cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) that can be polarized toward pro-tumoral M2-like phenotypes. While biochemical signals in the TME are well studied, the role of physical cues, particularly interstitial ECF viscosity, has been largely overlooked. This RNA-seq experiment was designed to elucidate the transcriptomic changes underlying viscosity-induced macrophage polarization. Experimental Design: RAW264.7 macrophages were cultured in DMEM medium supplemented with methylcellulose (MC) to modulate fluid viscosity. Two conditions were compared: Low Viscosity (A, 0% MC) and High Viscosity (B, 1.2% MC). Cells were cultured for 24 hours, after which total RNA was extracted for transcriptome profiling. Three biological replicates were performed per condition. Data Content: Raw sequencing reads (FASTQ files); Processed count matrices (gene-level read counts); Differential expression analysis results (DEGs between high and low viscosity conditions). Key Findings: Differential expression analysis revealed 2,766 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with 2,154 up-regulated and 612 down-regulated genes in macrophages under high ECF viscosity compared to low viscosity. Enrichment analyses (GO, KEGG, GSEA) identified significant modulation of mechanosensing, cell adhesion, cytoskeletal remodeling, and JAK-STAT signaling pathways, consistent with the manuscript's mechanistic findings. Reuse Potential: This dataset can be reused for meta-analyses of macrophage mechanobiology, comparative transcriptomics studies of immune cell polarization, or validation of mechanotransduction pathways in immune cells.