Objective

Macrophages are highly motile, phenotypically changeable, myeloid lineage derived immune cells. Through pro- or anti-inflammatory cytokines secretion they form an important part of the innate immune system, assisting in immune response regulation. They perform another vital role in homeostasis by targeting and removing large numbers of erythrocytes from the circulation, along with cellular debris and apoptotic cells from the body, in a process known as efferocytosis. A key component for initiating efferocytosis is the Mer Tyrosine Kinase(TK). Here we describe a 384 well plate based high content imaging assay for the specific detection of functional MerTK driven efferocytosis in human primary monocyte derived macrophages with the possibility for quantification of chemically induced perturbations of this process.