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. 2021 May 7;8:679797. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.679797

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Copyright © 2021 Lin, Ji, Li and Guo.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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Main subtypes of macrophages found in atherosclerotic plaques. Distinct stimuli in atherosclerotic microenvironment drive distinct macrophage phenotype differentiation. This figure points out some examples of these macrophage markers or related genes, and the subtypes of macrophages are identified in human (H) and/or mouse (M) atherosclerotic plaques. M1 macrophages can be induced by IFN-γ and LPS, these cells mainly show pro-inflammatory effect. M2 macrophages can be induced by IL-4 and IL-13, and IL-10, these cells can be further divided into M2a, M2b, and M2c subtypes. Of note, these cells are found not always protective. Furthermore, monocyte/macrophage can be differentiated into Mox, M4, M(Hb), and Mhem subtypes by distinct factors or microenvironments. Arg-1, arginase-1; CD, cluster of differentiation; CXCL, Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand; HMOX-1, heme oxygenase-1; IC, immune complexes; iNOS, inducible nitric oxide synthase; IFN-γ, interferon-γ; IL, interleukin; LPS, lipopolysaccharide; LXR, liver X receptor; MHC, major histocompatibility complex; MMP, Metalloproteinase; MR, mannose receptor; Srx1, sulforedoxin-1; Th, T-helper; Txnrd1, thioredoxin reductase 1; TLR, Toll-like receptor; TGFβ, transforming growth factor β. These abbreviations are suitable for the following figures.