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The TSC-mTOR pathway regulates macrophage polarization

2013; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 4; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/ncomms3834

2041-1723

Vanessa Byles, Anthony J. Covarrubias, Issam Ben‐Sahra, Dudley W. Lamming, David M. Sabatini, Brendan D. Manning, Tiffany Horng,

Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation

Macrophages are able to polarize to proinflammatory M1 or alternative M2 states with distinct phenotypes and physiological functions. How metabolic status regulates macrophage polarization remains not well understood, and here we examine the role of mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin), a central metabolic pathway that couples nutrient sensing to regulation of metabolic processes. Using a mouse model in which myeloid lineage-specific deletion of Tsc1 (Tsc1Δ/Δ) leads to constitutive mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) activation, we find that Tsc1Δ/Δ macrophages are refractory to IL-4-induced M2 polarization, but produce increased inflammatory responses to proinflammatory stimuli. Moreover, mTORC1-mediated downregulation of Akt signalling critically contributes to defective polarization. These findings highlight a key role for the mTOR pathway in regulating macrophage polarization, and suggest how nutrient sensing and metabolic status could be ‘hard-wired’ to control of macrophage function, with broad implications for regulation of type 2 immunity, inflammation and allergy. Distinct macrophage phenotypes are associated with their polarization to a proinflammatory or alternative state, but it is not well understood how metabolic status affects this process. Here, Byles et al.demonstrate that the mTOR metabolic pathway regulates macrophage differentiation.