Fig. 6: CSPG treatment converts anti-inflammatory macrophages to a pro-inflammatory phenotype.

a Experimental design of CSPG phenotype conversion studies in polarised bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) in vitro. b 3D PCA of inflammatory response gene expression profiles in M1 and M2 polarised BMDMs with or without CSPG treatment at 4 or 16 h (n = 3 per group). Note that gene expression alteration in BMDMs produced by CSPG treatment is highest in M2 polarised BMDMs compared to M1, and at 4 h compared to 16 h after the treatment. c Heatmap showing the effect of 4 h CSPG treatment (5 μg/ml) in M1 (left) and M2 (right) polarised BMDMs. CSPG immunomodulatory effects are predominant in M2 polarised BMDMs, causing a significant increase in multiple pro inflammatory genes. d, e Bar graphs showing genes that were significantly altered by 4 h CSPG treatment in d M1 and e M2 BMDMs. mRNA levels of inflammatory response genes were determined by qPCR. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001 vs. control (no CSPG). Results were assessed for normality using the Shapiro–Wilk test and analysed using a two-tailed unpaired t test. Data are shown as mean ± SEM (n = 3 per group). f Heatmap showing the effect of 16 h CSPG treatment (5 μg/ml) in M1 (left) and M2 (right) polarised BMDMs. g, h Bar graphs showing genes that were significantly altered by CSPG treatment in (g) M1 and (h) M2 BMDMs. mRNA levels of inflammatory response genes were determined by qPCR. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001 versus control (no CSPG). Results were assessed for normality using the Shapiro–Wilk test and analysed using a two-tailed unpaired t test. Data are shown as mean ± SEM (n = 3 per group). Detailed statistics and exact p values are provided in Supplementary Table 8. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.