Macrophage recruitment and infiltration pathway

The macrophage recruitment and infiltration pathway is a complex biological process involving the mobilization of monocytes from the bone marrow and their subsequent migration into peripheral tissues, where they differentiate into macrophages (Nature Reviews Cancer, PMID: 24442438). This pathway is primarily driven by the interaction between chemokines, such as C-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 2 (CCL2), and their corresponding receptors, notably C-C Chemokine Receptor Type 2 (CCR2) (Frontiers in Immunology, PMID: 30107140). Additionally, Colony Stimulating Factor 1 (CSF1) and its receptor (CSF1R) play a critical role in the survival and differentiation of these recruited cells (Clinical Cancer Research, PMID: 27141351). In diseases like cancer, this pathway is exploited to populate the tumor microenvironment with tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) that facilitate immunosuppression, angiogenesis, and metastasis (Journal of Hematology & Oncology, PMID: 33407734). Therapeutic strategies targeting this pathway focus on inhibiting these signaling nodes to prevent macrophage accumulation in pathological sites (Nature Reviews Cancer, PMID: 24442438). While highly relevant for drug discovery, this entry represents a multi-component physiological process rather than a single molecular target. Drugs like pexidartinib and carlumab have been developed to disrupt specific nodes within this recruitment cascade to achieve clinical benefit (Cell, PMID: 28985560).

Other names

Monocyte recruitmentMacrophage chemotaxisMacrophage migrationTumor-associated macrophage infiltrationMonocyte-macrophage axis

Inhibition of chemokine-receptor interactions (e.g., CCL2-CCR2 axis) or growth factor signaling (e.g., CSF1-CSF1R axis) to block the mobilization, extravasation, and survival of monocytes and macrophages in diseased tissues.