Bone marrow-derived macrophage

[3] M-CSF is a cytokine and growth factor that is responsible for the proliferation and commitment of myeloid progenitors into monocytes (which then mature into macrophages).

[3][4] Macrophages have a wide variety of functions in the body including phagocytosis of foreign invaders and other cellular debris, releasing cytokines to trigger immune responses, and antigen presentation.

[2] BMDMs provide a large homogenous population of macrophages that play an increasingly important role in making macrophage-related research possible and financially feasible.

[5] In order to produce BMDMs, mesenchymal stem cells are removed from the tibia or femur of mice.

[6] Since BMDMs are derived from bone marrow, withdrawn cells are healthy and naïve (or unactivated), regardless of the condition of donor mice.