GEO series

Programmable synthetic cytokine receptors polarize macrophages to user-defined functional states

GSE328683 Homo sapiens (human) RNA-seq (gene expression) 18 samples Submitted 2026/08/05 Platform GPL34284

At a glance

RNA-seq (gene expression) · human · 18 samples

What it is: RNA-seq (gene expression)Gene activity measured by sequencing. The summary does not mention single-cell work, so this is most likely bulk: one average per sample, the usual starting point for comparing groups.
Organism: Homo sapiens (human)
Samples: 18 samples: 18 samples, each with a distinct title — no replicated groupsGroups are read from the sample names, not from the paper. Check the list below.
Data you can get: A processed table (series matrix) and supplementary files from NCBI; the raw sequencing reads from ENA. Which of these hold counts depends on the study, so check the file list.
Paper: Programmable synthetic cytokine receptors polarize macrophages to user-defined functional statesbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026

Summary (written by the submitters)

Macrophage-based immunotherapies hold promise for cancer and other diseases, but lack of methods to precisely control macrophage polarization limits both mechanistic understanding and therapeutic applications. Here, we use a programmable synthetic cytokine receptor (SCR) platform to control primary human macrophage polarization. SCRs containing signaling motifs from the interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) or Interleukin-10 (IL-10) receptors are sufficient to mimic pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory polarization, respectively.

Read the full summary ↓

Combinatorial assembly of nine distinct signaling motifs within the SCR signaling domain generates a diverse landscape of synthetic macrophage states with varied expression of inflammatory markers (CD80, CD40, PDL1), anti-inflammatory markers (CD163, CD206) and phagocytic capacity. SCRs programmed with multiple YxxQ motifs drive macrophage phagocytosis of E. coli and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-macrophage phagocytosis of cancer cells in mice, reducing tumor burden by 30-fold. Quantitative analysis reveals that motif-dependent polarization follows a two-state equilibrium model, enabling rational prediction of macrophage polarization state from SCR composition. Leveraging this framework, we design SCRs that simultaneously enhance phagocytosis and maintain pro-inflammatory function. Together, these findings establish a framework to synthetically program macrophage polarization states with potential applications in cancer immunotherapy and other disease contexts.

Published in

Programmable synthetic cytokine receptors polarize macrophages to user-defined functional states

Lunger JC, Sant'Anna LE, Salcido-Alcántar A et al. · bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology 2026 · PMID 42182394 · doi:10.64898/2026.05.12.724672

This dataset

Open GSE328683 in finder → Find more human RNA-seq datasets →

Download · which file do I need?

Direct links to NCBI and ENA, no account and no request form. Pick by what you want to do: take the small processed table to look, the supplementary files to re-analyse, or the original raw data to start over.

1 · Just have a look

Processed table

The series matrix: one table of values per sample as the submitters processed it. The smallest download, and it opens in Excel or R. Start here to see what the data look like.

Series matrix ↓

2 · Re-analyse it

Supplementary files

The count tables and other files the authors uploaded. Take only the samples you need, or the whole study as GSE328683_RAW.tar (it can run to tens of gigabytes).

All supplementary files ↗ Whole study · RAW.tar ↓

3 · Start from the raw reads

Raw sequencing reads

The original FASTQ files, straight from the sequencer, held at ENA. Large, and you align them yourself, so only choose this if you need to re-process the study from scratch.

Raw reads on ENA ↗

What the files usually look like: For RNA-seq the counts are usually a table among the supplementary files (look for 'counts', 'expression', 'FPKM' or 'TPM' in the file name). The series matrix of a sequencing study is sometimes nearly empty.

Also filed as BioProject PRJNA1456125 and SRA study SRP693638. Searching any of these in the dataset finder brings you back here.

NCBI GEO page ↗ Paper (PMID 42182394) ↗

Study design

18 samples, each with a distinct title — no replicated groups

Any grouping that defines a comparison lives in the sample characteristics, which GEO records separately from the titles.

How we read this: Read from 18 sample titles: 18 distinct titles with little repetition. These groups are guessed from the sample names, not taken from the paper, so check them against the sample list below before relying on them.

Samples in this study

GSM9687151 Donor A, SCR0
GSM9687152 Donor A, SCR(S3-S3)
GSM9687153 Donor A, SCR(S2-S2)
GSM9687154 Donor A, SCR(S1-S1)
GSM9687155 Donor A, SCR0, IFNg
GSM9687156 Donor A, SCR0, IL-10
GSM9687157 Donor B, SCR0
GSM9687158 Donor B, SCR(S3-S3)
GSM9687159 Donor B, SCR(S2-S2)
GSM9687160 Donor B, SCR(S1-S1)
GSM9687161 Donor B, SCR0, IFNg
GSM9687162 Donor B, SCR0, IL-10
GSM9687163 Donor C, SCR0
GSM9687164 Donor C, SCR(S3-S3)
GSM9687165 Donor C, SCR(S2-S2)
GSM9687166 Donor C, SCR(S1-S1)
GSM9687167 Donor C, SCR0, IFNg
GSM9687168 Donor C, SCR0, IL-10

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Metadata from NCBI GEO, cached and refreshed periodically — the NCBI page above is authoritative. Downloads link straight to NCBI/ENA; nothing is proxied through BioTransfer.