ArticleJournal of innate immunity2014
M1 and M2 macrophages: the chicken and the egg of immunity.
Article in Journal of innate immunity, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 217 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
217 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Prognostic significance of tumor-associated macrophages in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A meta-analysis.Medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Prognostic impact of tumor-associated macrophage infiltration in non-small cell lung cancer: A systemic review and meta-analysis.Oncotarget · 2016Pooled it
- Electroacupuncture at ST-36 Protects Interstitial Cells of Cajal via Sustaining Heme Oxygenase-1 Positive M2 Macrophages in the Stomach of Diabetic Mice.Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2018Trial
- Increased NETosis in Patients With Heart Failure Is Associated With Macrophage Activation Towards a Proinflammatory Phenotype.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Specific Biomarkers Involved in Sarcoidosis Diagnosis and Prognosis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Regulation of the maternal immune system during early bovine pregnancy.Reproduction & fertility · 2026Review
- Immune responses in chicken mucosal lymphoid tissues following oral and eye drop vaccination and revaccination with live modified vaccine of infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV).Archives of virology · 2026Article
- Macrophage-centered immunotherapy for osteosarcoma: mechanisms, repolarization, and translational strategies.World journal of surgical oncology · 2026Review
- Article
- Lymphocyte signal transduction defects in cutaneous sarcoidosis and implications for treatment.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Reframing macrophage polarization through cholesterol efflux: an organelle-coupled immunometabolic model.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- The Crosstalk Between Efferocytosis and Macrophage Polarization in Diabetic Wounds: A Comprehensive Review.Journal of inflammation research · 2026Review
- Locally Reprogramming Tumor-Associated Macrophages with Cytokine-Loaded Injectable Cryogels for Breast Cancer.Annals of biomedical engineering · 2025Article
- Evaluation of laser-photobiomodulation different irradiation parameters on macrophages (RAW 264.7) inflammatory mediators' production.Lasers in medical science · 2025Article
- Progress in brucellosis immune regulation inflammatory mechanisms and diagnostic advances.European journal of medical research · 2025Review
- Role of regulatory immune cells in pathogenesis and therapy of periodontitis.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Review
- M2-Like Macrophages Exhibit Sialic Acid-Enhanced Efferocytosis via the Siglec CD22.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2025Article
- Oligonucleotide-Based Modulation of Macrophage Polarization: Emerging Strategies in Immunotherapy.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2025Review
- Transcriptomic profiles of monocyte-derived macrophages exposed to SARS-CoV-2 VOCs reveal immune-evasion escape driven by delta.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Oxidative phosphorylation-related genes for prognosis and tumor microenvironment in breast cancer.Translational cancer research · 2025Article
157 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The purpose of this perspective is to describe a critical advance in understanding how immune responses work. Macrophages are required for all animal life: 'Inhibit' type macrophages in all animals (called M1) can rapidly kill pathogens, and are thus the primary host defense, and 'Heal' type macrophages (M2) routinely repair and maintain tissue integrity. Macrophages perform these activities in all animals without T cells, and also in T cell-deficient vertebrates. Although adaptive immunity can amplify macrophage polarization, the long-held notion that macrophages need to be 'activated' or 'alternatively activated' by T cells is incorrect; indeed, immunology has had it backward. M1/M2-type macrophages necessarily direct T cells toward Th1- or Th2-like activities, respectively. That such macrophage-innate activities are the central directing element in immune responses is a dramatic change in understanding how immune systems operate. Most important, this revelation is opening up whole new approaches to immunotherapy. For example, many modern diseases, such as cancer and atherosclerosis, may not display 'foreign' antigens. However, there are clear imbalances in M1/M2-type responses. Correcting such innate imbalances can result in better health. Macrophages are the chicken and the egg of immunity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.