Macrophages play a pivotal role in orchestrating immune responses by releasing a broad spectrum of cytokines. These cytokines mediate inflammation, immunity, and tissue homeostasis, and their expression patterns provide critical insights into the state and function of macrophages under various physiological and pathological conditions.

Creative Biolabs offers a comprehensive macrophage cytokine expression profiling service utilizing state-of-the-art qPCR and microarray platforms. Our services are tailored to assist researchers in identifying and quantifying the expression levels of key pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in macrophage populations.

The Cytokine Expression Profiling of Macrophage

Macrophage heterogeneity and plasticity are largely dictated by their microenvironment. These cells can shift between pro-inflammatory (M1) and anti-inflammatory (M2) states, secreting distinct cytokine signatures such as:

• Proinflammatory cytokines: tumor necrosis factor (TNF), IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12, IL-18, IL-23, and IL-27.
• Anti-inflammatory cytokines: IL-10, TGF-β, CXCL1 and CXCL2 (MIP-2α), CCL5 (RANTES), CXCL8 (IL-8), CXCL9 (MIG), CXCL10 (IP-10), and CXCL11 (IP-9).

Fig.1 Monocytes may differentiate into several types of macrophages.^1,3

Cytokines serve a crucial role in macrophages, functioning as pioneers of the body's innate immune system and facilitating the shift from innate to adaptive immunity. Examining the differences in cytokine expression profiles across various macrophages could provide valuable insights into their unique characteristics, which could prove crucial for studies pertaining to macrophages. Cytokine profiling thus enables:

• Characterization of macrophage phenotypes
• Evaluation of immune-modulating compounds
• Monitoring of therapeutic efficacy in inflammatory and autoimmune models
• Discovery of biomarkers for infectious and chronic diseases

Together with our experienced research teams and innovative platforms, the cytokine expression profiling service provided by Creative Biolabs has the potency to help customers profile the cytokine expression of target macrophages treated with interest compounds.

Cytokine Expression Profiling Service by Real-Time PCR Analysis or Microarray Analysis at Creative Biolabs

The cytokine expression profiling service from Creative Biolabs takes advantage of the real-time PCR analysis or microarray analysis approaches, which have the capacity to perform sensitive and high-throughput profiling of macrophages' cytokine expression. Our RT-PCR may spot cytokine mRNA levels in particular cells, and our microarray analysis allows for determining the expression levels of several genes at the same time. Based on them, we not only deliver detection services about certain cytokines or specific groups of cytokines but also customize solution services for customers who have any other specific demands. At Creative Biolabs, we will try our best to advance your macrophage projects to progress smoothly.

Importantly, our cytokine expression profiling service by real-time PCR analysis or microarray analysis is suitable for:

• Primary macrophage
• Macrophage cell lines

Here we provide multiple types of stimuli to design for your macrophage projects:

Fig.2 Diverse types of stimuli for macrophage development.

We provide two high-performance platforms based on the project's needs.

• qPCR offers high sensitivity and specificity, quantitative expression data and cost-effective analysis for defined cytokine panels.
• Our microarray technology allows simultaneous analysis of hundreds of cytokine genes, pathway-based profiling and expression clustering and identification of novel regulatory networks.

Table 1 Service workflow of cytokine expression profiling service.

As a leading company in macrophage characterization, Creative Biolabs strives to develop useful technologies to aid in customers' diverse projects. If you are interested in our cytokine expression profiling service by real-time PCR analysis or microarray analysis, please feel free to contact us.

Related Products

Along with these advanced analytical services, we are pleased to introduce our related products designed to assist researchers in achieving greater efficiency and accuracy in their laboratory work. Our assay kits ensure their data compatibility with our services, further enhancing the reliability of experimental results.

Our product line also includes macrophages and monocytes from different sources. These products, when used in conjunction with our analytical services, can provide comprehensive solutions for scientific research. We look forward to working with you.

Service Features

Customizable Panels

Choose from predefined cytokine panels or request custom targets.

High Reproducibility

Rigorous internal controls ensure consistency across samples. Highly reliable and reproducible data.

Data Visualization

Heatmaps, volcano plots, and pathway diagrams are included in the final report.

Publications

This study aimed to investigate the changes in cytokine expression in bone marrow, spleen, and peritoneal macrophages using real-time PCR under both resting and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated conditions. The findings demonstrated that the expression levels of cytokines differed across the three types of macrophages under both states. Resting bone marrow macrophages (BMs) exhibited significantly higher expression of TGF-β and IL-10 compared to spleen macrophages (SPMs) and peritoneal macrophages (PMs). This suggested that BMs generated in vitro might have a greater likelihood of displaying an M2 phenotype. On the other hand, pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-12, and TNF-α were significantly more highly expressed in both activated and non-activated SPMs compared to BMs and PMs. These results highlighted the distinct biological functions of the three types of macrophages based on their cytokine expression patterns.

Fig.3 The cytokine expression of three types of macrophages under resting and LPS-stimulated conditions.^2,4

Scientific Resources

Learn More Macrophage Biology

Download Macrophage Recruitment and Chemotaxis

Learn More Six Regulators of Macrophage Activity

Learn More Isolation and Identification of Macrophages

Q & A

Q: What types of samples can I submit for cytokine expression analysis?

A: We support a variety of sample types including:

• Primary macrophages (human or animal source)
• Common cell lines (e.g., RAW 264.7, THP-1, J774A.1)
• Macrophage subpopulations sorted by magnetic beads or flow cytometry
• Extracted RNA or cDNA from tissue sections or biospecimens

We recommend that our customers try to provide samples that are either fresh or processed with RNA preservation solution to ensure data We recommend that clients provide fresh or RNA preservation solution treated samples whenever possible to ensure data quality.

Q: What is the difference between qPCR and microarray analysis? Which one should I choose?

A: Both qPCR and microarray have their own advantages and the choice depends on your research objectives. We recommend qPCR if you have a clear list of cytokines, or microarray if you want to explore globally. We also support "microarray followed by qPCR validation" as a one-stop combination service.

Q: If I am only interested in a specific 10-20 cytokines, do I still need to select a microarray?

A: No need. For well-targeted small panels, we recommend qPCR due to its higher sensitivity, quantitative accuracy and cost efficiency. We can design custom qPCR panels for you and provide primer optimization, amplification curve evaluation and standardized analysis to ensure that the data is scientifically valid and suitable for fine-grained studies such as efficacy assessment and functional validation.

Q: Do you provide customized assay content or marker recommendations?

A: Yes, we have rich cytokine database and literature accumulation. We can provide target gene suggestion, literature support and panel customization according to your research direction (e.g. tumor immunity, infectious disease, autoimmune disease, etc.). In addition, we also support the addition of customer self-selected markers, just provide the gene name or sequence, we will assist in primer design and validation.

References

1. Arango Duque, Guillermo, and Albert Descoteaux. "Macrophage cytokines: involvement in immunity and infectious diseases." Frontiers in Immunology 5 (2014): 491. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2014.00491
2. Wang, Changqi, et al. "Characterization of murine macrophages from bone marrow, spleen and peritoneum." BMC Immunology 14.1 (2013): 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2172-14-6
3. Under Open Access license CC BY 4.0, without modification.
4. Under Open Access license CC BY 2.0, without modification.