Macrophage Polarization in Physiological and Pathological Pregnancy

Conclusions Altogether, this review summarized the current knowledge of the polarization of macrophages and their regulatory mechanisms at different stages of pregnancy, as well as the roles of these cells in pathological processes. Although current evidence provides a compelling argument that macrophages are important in pregnancy, our understanding of the roles and mechanisms of macrophages in pregnancy is still rudimentary. Since macrophages exhibit functional plasticity, they may be ideal targets for therapeutic manipulation during pathological pregnancy. Additional studies are needed to better define the functions and mechanisms of various macrophage subsets in both normal and pathological pregnancy. Author Contributions All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication. Funding This study was supported by the Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81730039), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81671460), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC1001401), Shanghai Municipal Medical and Health Discipline Construction Projects (2017ZZ02015), the National Basic Research Program of China (2015CB943300), the Program for Shanghai leaders, and the Program of Shanghai Outstanding Academic Leaders (15XD1500900). Conflict of Interest Statement The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or fina...
Source: Frontiers in Immunology - Category: Allergy & Immunology Source Type: research