Gene expression analysis of Stabilin-1 positive human monocytes

Stabilin-1/CLEVER-1 is a multidomain protein present in lymphatic and vascular endothelial cells and in M2 immunosuppressive macrophages. Stabilin-1 functions in scavenging, endocytosis and leukocyte adhesion to and transmigration through the endothelial cells. We analyzed the putative functions of Stabilin-1 in blood monocytes. We found that in healthy individuals 60-80% of both CD14+CD16- and CD14+C16+ monocytes, but not CD14dimCD16+ monocytes, expressed Stabilin-1 on the surface. Microarray analysis was performed to study these monocytes subtypes in more detail. Human peripheral blood CD14+ monocytes were sorted with FACS into Stabilin-1high and Stabilin-1low positive cells. Cells were sorted from 4 healthy individuals. Total RNA was extracted and used for microarray analysis.