The Role of Autophagy in M2 Polarization of Macrophages Induced by Micro/Nano Topography

• Main Authors: Luo J, He Y, Meng F, Yan N, Zhang Y, Song W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2020-10-01
• Series: International Journal of Nanomedicine
• Subjects: macrophages polarization; micro/nano topography; tio2 nanotubes; autophagy; erk
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/the-role-of-autophagy-in-m2-polarization-of-macrophages-induced-by-mic-peer-reviewed-article-IJN

Jing Luo,1,2,* Yide He,1,* Fanhui Meng,1,3,* Ning Yan,1 Yumei Zhang,1 Wen Song1 1State Key Laboratory of Military Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Department of Prosthodontics, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an 710032, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Stomatology, General Hospital of Southern Theater Command, PLA, Guangzhou 510010, People’s Republic of China; 3State Key Laboratory of Military Stomatology and National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases and Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Department of Dental Materials, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an 710032, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yumei Zhang Email [e-mail] Song Email [e-mail]: The proper topography of implant surface can induce macrophages polarization, whereas the regulation mechanism has not been fully deciphered. The study aimed to examine the regulation mechanism of macrophages M2 polarization by titanium (Ti) implant surface micro/nano topography.Results: Firstly, the titanium implant micropits-nanotubular surface with ∼ 30 nm diameters (MNT) can induce the M2 polarization of RAW264.7 spontaneously, as indicated by the spindle-like cell morphological alteration and specific molecular marker arginase-1 (Arg1) expression. Next, the autophagic vacuoles (AVs) number is significantly increased on MNT surface, as confirmed by the monodansylcadaverine (MDC) and CYTO-ID staining as well as the transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation. In addition, increasing or decreasing the autophagosomes number by rapamycin or 3-methyladenine (3-MA) will result in augmentation or attenuation of Arg1. Furthermore, blocking the fusion between autophagosomes and lysosomes by bafilomycin also significantly reduces Arg1, even in the presence of rapamycin. Finally, the ERK phosphorylation is selectively upregulated on MNT surface and the AVs number and Arg1 expression are significantly suppressed by U0126 treatment.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the ERK-Beclin-1-autophagy axis may play a pivotal role in the regulation of M2 polarization induced by nanotopography.Keywords: macrophages polarization, micro/nano topography, TiO2 nanotubes, autophagy, ERK