Isolation of murine macrophages.

Macrophages isolated from murine peritoneal cavity, bone marrow, and spleen are suitable samples for studying the activation properties of this immunologically important cell type. This unit describes the isolation of murine macrophages from the peritoneal cavity under inflammatory and noninflammatory conditions. To investigate macrophage activation using a more homogeneous population of cells, macrophages derived from immature progenitor cells in bone marrow can be studied. A second protocol describes the isolation of bone marrow-derived progenitor cells and propagation of these immature macrophages by CSFs or IL-3.