I figure it's something to do with the cell membrane of the macrophage being less lipophilic than other membranes but I'm not sure - any ideas?
Thank you!
If your macrophages are in suspension culture, then electroporation is going to work far better (for example in RAW 264.7: https://altogen.com/product/raw-264-7-electroporation-kit-lymphoma-cells-tib-71/) than lipofection approaches. In general suspension lines are better transfected with electroporation, and though phagocytic activity can be high, there are more pressing problems with lipofection (Jordan addressed a few issues) that can limit its application.
Macrophages have very high pinocytic or phagocytic activity. This leads your DNA with its lipid particles ending up in phagosomes and degradation.
Some companies are making transfection kits for macrophages which rely on mannose receptors, which increase the efficiency by normal endocytosis instead of phago/pinocytosis.
Also, macrophages are exquisitely sensitive to pathogen and damage-associated molecular patterns. Lipids in transfection complexes, DNA, and bacterial remnants from DNA preparation all tend to trigger inflammatory/cell death pathways in macrophages.
If your macrophages are in suspension culture, then electroporation is going to work far better (for example in RAW 264.7: https://altogen.com/product/raw-264-7-electroporation-kit-lymphoma-cells-tib-71/) than lipofection approaches. In general suspension lines are better transfected with electroporation, and though phagocytic activity can be high, there are more pressing problems with lipofection (Jordan addressed a few issues) that can limit its application.
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