The immunomodulatory effects of periostin on monocyte-derived macrophages

To explore the effects of periostin 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. In the absence of IL-4 stimulation, these macrophages expressed CD163 and Arg1 (a marker of M2 macrophage activation) but not CD206, suggesting that they were similar to macrophages in the early stage of mycosis fungoides (low frequency of CD206+ cells and low IL-4 expression). We then stimulated these macrophages with or without 100 ng/ml of periostin for 6 hours and examined gene expression using a cDNA microarray. Periostin stimulated gene expression on monocyte-derived macrophages was measured at 6 hours after exposure to doses of 100 ng/ml periostin.