Open AccessRole of macrophages in peripheral nerve injury and repair
Author(s) -
Ping Liu,
Jiang Peng,
Gonghai Han,
Xiao Ding,
Shuai Wei,
Gang Gao,
Kun Huang,
Feng Chen,
Yu Wang
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
neural regeneration research/neural regeneration research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.93
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1876-7958
pISSN - 1673-5374
DOI - 10.4103/1673-5374.253510
Subject(s) - innate immune system , regeneration (biology) , immune system , macrophage , inflammation , medicine , tumor microenvironment , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , neuroscience , cancer research , biology , biochemistry , in vitro
Resident and inflammatory macrophages are essential effectors of the innate immune system. These cells provide innate immune defenses and regulate tissue and organ homeostasis. In addition to their roles in diseases such as cancer, obesity and osteoarthritis, they play vital roles in tissue repair and disease rehabilitation. Macrophages and other inflammatory cells are recruited to tissue injury sites where they promote changes in the microenvironment. Among the inflammatory cell types, only macrophages have both pro-inflammatory (M1) and anti-inflammatory (M2) actions, and M2 macrophages have four subtypes. The co-action of M1 and M2 subtypes can create a favorable microenvironment, releasing cytokines for damaged tissue repair. In this review, we discuss the activation of macrophages and their roles in severe peripheral nerve injury. We also describe the therapeutic potential of macrophages in nerve tissue engineering treatment and highlight approaches for enhancing M2 cell-mediated nerve repair and regeneration.