Signal transduction mechanism of macrophages polarization induced by methionine enkephalin / 中国药学杂志

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the signal transduction mechanism of macrophages polarization induced by methionine enkephalin (MENK), which can promote tumoricidal responses in vitro. METHODS: The phenotype of macrophages were assessed by the quantitative analysis of key surface molecules on macrophages with flow cytometry (CD64, CD206). The expressions of NF-kB/STAT6 signal transduction were analyzed with Western-blotting. RESULTS: MENK(10-12 mol · L-1) could significantly decrease the expression of CD206 (P < 0.01), and at the same time, it could increase the expression of CD64 significantly (P < 0.01). MENK could increase the expression of NF-κB compared with MENK-untreated group. Furthermore MENK could inhibit the activation of STAT6 which is mediated by IL4 (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: MENK could inhibit the activation of STAT6 signaling pathway mediated by IL4. Meanwhile, MENK could increase the expression of NF-κB and be conducive to the combination of NF-kB sites with M1-type cytokines, consequently MENK could induced the conversion of macrophages from M2 to M1 phenotype effectively.