The Journal of pathology
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The Journal of pathology · Sep 2008
Possible involvement of the M2 anti-inflammatory macrophage phenotype in growth of human gliomas.
Within tumours, many non-neoplastic cells such as fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and macrophages assist tumour growth by producing various growth factors and pro-angiogenic cytokines. Various tumour-derived molecules drive tumour-associated macrophages towards an anti-inflammatory phenotype (M2) and thus promoting tumour growth. Here we investigated microglia/macrophage differentiation in glioma tissues by means of immunostaining of paraffin-embedded glioma samples. ⋯ In addition, the proportion of M2 microglia/macrophages and M-CSF expression in tumour cells correlated well with proliferation of glioblastoma cells. These results suggest that tumour-derived M-CSF induces a shift of microglia/macrophages towards the M2 phenotype, which influences tumour growth. Evaluation of the proportion of M2 microglia/macrophages and M-CSF expression in tumour tissue would be useful for assessment of microglia/macrophage proliferative activity and the prognosis of patients with gliomas.