Adoptive Transfer of Monocytes Sorted from Bone Marrow.

Inflammatory Ly6Chi monocytes can give rise to distinct mononuclear myeloid cells in the tumor microenvironment, such as monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (Mo-MDSC), immature macrophages, M2-like tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), M1-like TAMs or monocyte-derived dendritic cells (Mo-DCs). This protocol describes a method to assess the fate and recruitment of inflammatory Ly6Chi monocytes in the tumor microenvironment.

Bone marrow-derived monocytes give rise to self-renewing and fully differentiated Kupffer cells.

Self-renewing tissue-resident macrophages are thought to be exclusively derived from embryonic progenitors. However, whether circulating monocytes can also give rise to such macrophages has not been formally investigated. Here we use a new model of diphtheria toxin-mediated depletion of liver-resident Kupffer cells to generate niche availability and show that circulating monocytes engraft in the liver, gradually adopt the transcriptional profile of their depleted counterparts and become long-lived self-renewing cells. Underlining the physiological relevance of our findings, circulating monocytes also contribute to the expanding pool of macrophages in the liver shortly after birth, when macrophage niches become available during normal organ growth. Thus, like embryonic precursors, monocytes can and do give rise to self-renewing tissue-resident macrophages if the niche is available to them.

M-CSF and GM-CSF Receptor Signaling Differentially Regulate Monocyte Maturation and Macrophage Polarization in the Tumor Microenvironment.

Tumors contain a heterogeneous myeloid fraction comprised of discrete MHC-II(hi) and MHC-II(lo) tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) subpopulations that originate from Ly6C(hi) monocytes. However, the mechanisms regulating the abundance and phenotype of distinct TAM subsets remain unknown. Here, we investigated the role of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) in TAM differentiation and polarization in different mouse tumor models. We demonstrate that treatment of tumor-bearing mice with a blocking anti-M-CSFR monoclonal antibody resulted in a reduction of mature TAMs due to impaired recruitment, extravasation, proliferation, and maturation of their Ly6C(hi) monocytic precursors. M-CSFR signaling blockade shifted the MHC-II(lo)/MHC-II(hi) TAM balance in favor of the latter as observed by the preferential differentiation of Ly6C(hi) monocytes into MHC-II(hi) TAMs. In addition, the genetic and functional signatures of MHC-II(lo) TAMs were downregulated upon M-CSFR blockade, indicating that M-CSFR signaling shapes the MHC-II(lo) TAM phenotype. Conversely, granulocyte macrophage (GM)-CSFR had no effect on the mononuclear tumor infiltrate or relative abundance of TAM subsets. However, GM-CSFR signaling played an important role in fine-tuning the MHC-II(hi) phenotype. Overall, our data uncover the multifaceted and opposing roles of M-CSFR and GM-CSFR signaling in governing the phenotype of macrophage subsets in tumors, and provide new insight into the mechanism of action underlying M-CSFR blockade.

Ly6C- Monocytes Regulate Parasite-Induced Liver Inflammation by Inducing the Differentiation of Pathogenic Ly6C+ Monocytes into Macrophages.

Monocytes consist of two well-defined subsets, the Ly6C+ and Ly6C- monocytes. Both CD11b+ myeloid cells populations have been proposed to infiltrate tissues during inflammation. While infiltration of Ly6C+ monocytes is an established pathogenic factor during hepatic inflammation, the role of Ly6C- monocytes remains elusive. Mice suffering experimental African trypanosome infection die from systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) that is initiated by phagocytosis of parasites by liver myeloid cells and culminates in apoptosis/necrosis of liver myeloid and parenchymal cells that reduces host survival. C57BL/6 mice are considered as trypanotolerant to Trypanosoma congolense infection. We have reported that in these animals, IL-10, produced among others by myeloid cells, limits the liver damage caused by pathogenic TNF-producing Ly6C+ monocytes, ensuring prolonged survival. Here, the heterogeneity and dynamics of liver myeloid cells in T. congolense-infected C57/BL6 mice was further dissected. Moreover, the contribution of Ly6C- monocytes to trypanotolerance was investigated. By using FACS analysis and adoptive transfer experiments, we found that the accumulation of Ly6C- monocytes and macrophages in the liver of infected mice coincided with a drop in the pool of Ly6C+ monocytes. Pathogenic TNF mainly originated from Ly6C+ monocytes while Ly6C- monocytes and macrophages were major and equipotent sources of IL-10 within myeloid cells. Moreover, Nr4a1 (Nur77) transcription factor-dependent Ly6C- monocytes exhibited IL-10-dependent and cell contact-dependent regulatory properties contributing to trypanotolerance by suppressing the production of TNF by Ly6C+ monocytes and by promoting the differentiation of the latter cells into macrophages. Thus, Ly6C- monocytes can dampen liver damage caused by an extensive Ly6C+ monocyte-associated inflammatory immune response in T. congolense trypanotolerant animals. In a more general context, Ly6C- or Ly6C+ monocyte targeting may represent a therapeutic approach in liver pathogenicity induced by chronic infection.