Rabbit M1 and M2 macrophages can be induced by human recombinant GM‐CSF and M‐CSF

Macrophages can change their phenotype in response to environmental cues. Polarized macrophages are broadly classified into two groups: classical activated M1 and alternative activated M2. Characterization of human macrophages has been widely studied, but polarized macrophages in rabbits have not been characterized. We characterized rabbit macrophages that were polarized using human recombinant GM‐CSF and M‐CSF. GM‐CSF‐treated macrophages had higher mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines (M1 phenotype) than did the M‐CSF‐treated counterpart. By contrast, high levels of TGF‐β and IL‐10 expression (M2 phenotype) were found in M‐CSF‐treated macrophages. The present study may be useful to understand roles of polarized macrophages in rabbit disease models.