Abstract
In tissues, macrophages are exposed to metabolic, homeostatic and immunoregulatory signals of local or systemic origin that influence their basal functions and responses to danger signals. Signal-transduction pathways regulated by extracellular signals are coupled to distinct sets of broadly expressed stimulus-regulated transcription factors whose ability to elicit gene-expression changes is influenced by the accessibility of their binding sites in the macrophage genome. In turn, accessibility of macrophage-specific transcriptional regulatory elements (enhancers and promoters) is specified by transcription factors that determine the macrophage lineage or impose their tissue-specific properties. Here we review recent findings that advance the understanding of mechanisms underlying priming and signal-dependent activation of macrophages and discuss the effect of genetic variation on these processes.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 26-33 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Nature Immunology |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jan 1 2016 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology