Macrophage fusion cuisine

Abstract

In this issue of Blood, Van den Bossche and colleagues identify E-cadherin as a new IL-4/IL-4Rα/STAT6-induced and polyamine-dependent marker of M2 polarized macrophages.1 This new pathway promotes formation of the E-cadherin/β-catenin complex, leading to homotypic and heterotypic cellular fusion (see figure) and plays an important role in guiding macrophage functions associated with Th2 immune responses.