Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2022, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (14): 2285-2290.doi: 10.12307/2022.496

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Macrophage polarization effectively promotes nerve regeneration after peripheral nerve injury through the M2 phenotypic regulation

Hu Taotao, Chang Shusen, Wei Zairong   

  1. Department of Plastic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi 563003, Guizhou Province, China
  • Received:2021-03-18 Revised:2021-03-20 Accepted:2021-05-07 Online:2022-05-18 Published:2021-12-22
  • Contact: Wei Zairong, MD candidate, Master’s supervisor, Chief physician, Department of Plastic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi 563003, Guizhou Province, China
  • About author:Hu Taotao, Master candidate, Physician, Department of Plastic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi 563003, Guizhou Province, China
  • Supported by:
    Master’s Startup Fund of the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, No. (2016) 35 (to CSS); Guizhou Provincial Innovation Talent Team for Integrated Surgery of Wounds, No. [2020] 5012 (to WZR)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Peripheral nerves are the most fragile structure of the human body and are easily damaged by trauma. Macrophages, as the most important immune cells in the peripheral nerves, play an extremely important role in the repair and regeneration of peripheral nerves. As the research on the functions and induction mechanisms of the subtypes of macrophages becomes more and more clear, molecular biology methods can be used to induce macrophages into the corresponding repair phenotype, which is expected to become a new therapeutic target for peripheral nerve injury.
OBJECTIVE: To summarize the origin and classification of macrophages in the peripheral nervous system, the polarization of macrophages, the regulation of polarization, and their applications in the repair and regeneration of peripheral nerve injuries.
METHODS: CNKI, WanFang, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched for relevant articles using the keywords of “macrophage polarization, nerve” in Chinese and English, respectively. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, after initial retrieval, 73 articles with high relevance and reference value were reviewed.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Macrophage polarization plays an important role in the repair of peripheral nerve injury, which is expected to become a therapeutic target for the treatment of peripheral nerve injury. However, the mechanism that controls this process still needs to be further studied, and the best method to promote the polarization of macrophage M2 is also uncertain. Therefore, it is necessary to further study the regulation mechanism of macrophages to M2 polarization and how M2 macrophages regulate the recovery of nerve function, and lay the foundation for the treatment of peripheral nerve injury. 

Key words: macrophage, M2, macrophage polarization, peripheral nerve, regeneration, review

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