Inflammation and Cancer: Extra- and Intracellular Determinants of Tumor-Associated Macrophages as Tumor Promoters

Figure 2

The polarization of TAMs is skewed to alternative activation due to p50/p50 nuclear accumulation, STAT3/STAT6 phosphorylation, and RORC1 transcription factor activation. M1 polarization promotes the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-12, TNF-α) and chemokines (CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11) whereas TAMs show anti-inflammatory phenotype (IL10, TGF-β) and the expression of CCL2, CCL17, CCL18, CCL22, and CCL24. M1-like (miRNA155, miR-33) and M2-like (miRNA146a, miRNA let 7b, and miR-223) miRNA profile are also a characteristic of macrophage polarization. See detailed explanation in the relevant section of the text.