Folate Receptor Expression by Human Monocyte-Derived Macrophage Subtypes and Effects of Corticosteroids.

Kelly Warmink, Michiel Siebelt, Philip S Low, Frank M Riemers, Bingbing Wang, Saskia G M Plomp, Marianna A Tryfonidou, P René van Weeren, Harrie Weinans, Nicoline M Korthagen

Cartilage 2022 Jan-Mar

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Folate receptor beta (FR-β) has been used as a clinical marker and target in multiple inflammatory diseases, including osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the conditions under which FR-β+ macrophages arise remain unclear and could be affected by corticosteroids. Therefore, we studied FR-β expression in vitro in macrophage subtypes and determined their response to triamcinolone acetonide (TA), a clinically often-used corticosteroid. Human monocyte-derived macrophages were differentiated to the known M0, M1, or M2 macrophage phenotypes. The phenotype and FR-β expression and plasticity of the macrophage subtypes were determined using flow cytometry, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). FR-β expression was low in granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-generated (M1-like) macrophages and high in macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF)-generated (M0 and M2-like) macrophages. FR-β expression remained high once the M0 or M2 macrophages were stimulated with pro-inflammatory stimuli (interferon-γ plus lipopolysaccharide) to induce M1-like macrophages. On the contrary, anti-inflammatory TA treatment skewed GM-CSF macrophage differentiation toward an M2 and FR-β+ phenotype. As corticosteroids skewed monocytes toward an FR-β-expressing, anti-inflammatory phenotype, even in an M1 priming GM-CSF environment, FR-β has potential as a biomarker to monitor success of treatment with corticosteroids. Without corticosteroid treatment, M-CSF alone induces high FR-β expression which remains high under pro-inflammatory conditions. This explains why pro-inflammatory FR-β+ macrophages (exposed to M-CSF) are observed in arthritis patients and correlate with disease severity.

Citation

Kelly Warmink, Michiel Siebelt, Philip S Low, Frank M Riemers, Bingbing Wang, Saskia G M Plomp, Marianna A Tryfonidou, P René van Weeren, Harrie Weinans, Nicoline M Korthagen. Folate Receptor Expression by Human Monocyte-Derived Macrophage Subtypes and Effects of Corticosteroids. Cartilage. 2022 Jan-Mar;13(1):19476035221081469