Figure 6.

Summary of the role of macrophages in efferocytosis and inflammation resolution in the poststroke brain. Following ischemic stroke, blood monocytes/macrophages (CD11b⁺CD45^high cells) invade the postischemic brain and undergo genomic reprogramming that enhances their efferocytic capacity. This genomic reprogramming results in a cascade of changes such as the upregulation of plasma membrane receptors and extracellular bridge molecules that assist with the recognition of apoptotic cells. Intracellular signaling is subsequently triggered, which stimulates cytoskeletal rearrangement, engulfment of apoptotic cells, and phagosome internalization. A group of transcription regulators are activated during macrophage efferocytosis, leading to the production of antiinflammatory and trophic factors. The genes listed were differentially expressed in brain macrophages versus their counterparts in the blood, whose products participate in each of these critical steps of efferocytosis. The efferocytic macrophages play a pivotal role in the clearance of dead cells and resolution of inflammation in the brain, ultimately promoting the neurorestorative processes after stroke