“…GC/GR signaling enhances the efferocytic properties of macrophages (Giles et al, 2001;Heasman et al, 2003;Stolberg et al, 2015), for instance, by increasing the expression of Mertk or Anxa1 as a core aspect of their anti-inflammatory effects (Koenen et al, 2018;Yona and Gordon, 2007;Zizzo et al, 2012). Efferocytosis is associated with macrophage polarization state since it induces the acquisition of an anti-inflammatory/resolving phenotype (Fadok et al, 1998;Han et al, 2016;Huynh et al, 2002;Zhang et al, 2019a), thus provides a bridge in macrophage function across sterile and LPS induced inflammation. In that context, our results show that genes downregulated in AMPK-deficient macrophages upon GC treatment were associated with autophagy and/or phagocytic processes.…”