Link to Pubmed [PMID] – 19098520
Exerc Sport Sci Rev 2009 Jan;37(1):18-22
Macrophages are necessary for skeletal muscle regeneration after injury. Muscle recruits inflammatory monocytes/macrophages that switch toward an anti-inflammatory profile upon phagocytosis of debris. In vitro, proinflammatory macrophages stimulate myoblast proliferation, whereas anti-inflammatory macrophages stimulate their differentiation. Thus, macrophages are involved in both phases of skeletal muscle regeneration: first, inflammation and cleansing of necrosis, and then myogenic differentiation and tissue repair.