Macrophage tissue infiltration is a hallmark of several pathological situations including cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and chronic inflammation. Hence, deciphering the mechanisms of macrophage migration across a variety of tissues holds great potential for novel anti-inflammatory therapies. Leukocytes have long been thought to migrate through tissues by using the amoeboid (protease-independent) migration mode; however, recent evidence indicates that macrophages can use either the amoeboid or the mesenchymal (protease-dependent) migration mode depending on the environmental constraints. Proteolytic activity is required for several key processes including cell migration. Paradoxically, the role of proteases in macrophage migration has been poorly studied. Here, by focusing on the best characterized extracellular protease families -MMPs, cathepsins and urokinase-type plasminogen activator -we give an overview of their probable involvement in macrophage migration. These proteases appear to play a role in all of the situations encountered by migrating macrophages, i.e. diapedesis, 2D and 3D migration. Migration of macrophages across tissues seems to proceed through an integrative analysis of numerous environmental clues allowing the cells to adapt their migration mode (amoeboid/ mesenchymal) and secrete dedicated proteases to ensure efficient tissue infiltration, as discussed in this review. The role of proteases in macrophage migration is an emerging field of research, which deserves further work to allow a more precise understanding.Key words: Cathepsins . Macrophage . MMPs . Migration . Proteases
IntroductionTrafficking of leukocytes is a key process for immune cell development and host defense (reviewed in [1]); however, the presence of phagocyte-infiltrated tissues often correlates with the aggravation of several diseases including cancers, neurodegenerative disorders, atherosclerosis and chronic inflammation.Given this, the specific targeting of phagocyte tissue infiltration, without affecting the migration of the other leukocyte subsets required for protective immunity, is a challenge for the future. The identification of the migration modes and molecular processes used by macrophages to infiltrate tissues will therefore be key for proposing new therapeutic approaches.Phagocytes are able to migrate through most tissues in the body and, in vivo, they encounter both 2-dimentional (2D) and 3-dimentional (3D) environments. 2D migration takes place along surfaces such as inner vessel walls and inner epithelial surfaces (peritoneal cavity or lung alveolae) and involves firm cell adhesion Mini-Review to the substratum. 3D migration takes place inside tissues composed of cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) components which constitute a complex and heterogeneous environment. It has been observed that for tumor cells 2D and 3D migration proceed through distinct molecular and cellular mechanisms [2,3]. Phagocyte migration in 2D and across endothelial surfaces has been studied using a large panel of in vitro model...