Self-maintaining resident macrophages populate all mammalian organs. In addition to their role as immune sentinels, macrophages also perform day-to-day functions essential to tissue homeostasis. The homeostatic functions of macrophages are regulated by so-called tissular “niches” that control the size of the macrophage population and imprint tissue-specific identity. Here, we review the mechanisms underlying self-maintenance of distinct macrophage populations and outline the organizing principles of the macrophage niche. We examine recent studies that uncovered mutually beneficial cell-cell circuits established between macrophages and their niche and propose a modular view of tissues that integrates the resident macrophage as an essential component of each individual module. Manipulating macrophage niche cells to control the function of resident macrophages in vivo might have therapeutic value in various disease settings.

自我维持的常驻巨噬细胞遍布所有哺乳动物器官。除了作为免疫哨兵的作用外，巨噬细胞还执行对组织稳态至关重要的日常功能。巨噬细胞的稳态功能受所谓的组织“壁龛”调节，这些壁龛控制巨噬细胞种群的大小并印记组织特异性身份。在这里，我们回顾了不同巨噬细胞群体自我维持的机制，并概述了巨噬细胞生态位的组织原则。我们研究了最近的研究，这些研究揭示了在巨噬细胞与其生态位之间建立的互利细胞 - 细胞回路，并提出了组织的模块化视图，将常驻巨噬细胞整合为每个单独模块的重要组成部分。体内可能在各种疾病环境中具有治疗价值。