Access
To read this article in full you may need to log in, make a payment or gain access through a site license (see right).
Review
Nature Reviews Immunology 3, 23–35 (1 January 2003) | doi:10.1038/nri978
Alternative activation of macrophages
Abstract
The classical pathway of interferon-γ-dependent activation of macrophages by T helper 1 (TH1)-type responses is a well-established feature of cellular immunity to infection with intracellular pathogens, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and HIV. The concept of an alternative pathway of macrophage activation by the TH2-type cytokines interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-13 has gained credence in the past decade, to account for a distinctive macrophage phenotype that is consistent with a different role in humoral immunity and repair. In this review, I assess the evidence in favour of alternative macrophage activation in the light of macrophage heterogeneity, and define its limits and relevance to a range of immune and inflammatory conditions.
To read this article in full you may need to log in, make a payment or gain access through a site license (see right).
