Expression data from macrophage maturation and polarization c-Myc in alternative macrophage activation experiments

In response to microenvironmental signals macrophages undergo different activation, indicated as classic/M1 and alternative/M2 polarization. C-Myc transcription factor could be an essential player in M2 polarization. Functional relevance of c-Myc in M2 macrophage biology is investigated by evaluating the effect of 100-58F4, on the transcriptional profile induced on human macrophages by IL-4. Human monocytes were obtained from normal donor buffy coats by two-step gradient centrifugation using Ficoll (Biochrom) and Percoll (Amersham). Non-adherent cells were discarded, and the purified monocytes were incubated for 7 days in RPMI 1640 (Biochom) supplemented with 10% FCS (HyClone) and 100 ng/mL M-CSF to obtain resting macrophages. Macrophage polarization was obtained by removing the culture medium and culturing cells in RPMI 1640 supplemented with 10% FCS and 100 ng/mL LPS plus 20 ng/mL IFN-gamma (M1 polarization) or 20 ng/mL IL-4 (M2 polarization) for 24 h. When needed, chemical inhibitors were added with IL-4.