Genetic variation in IL-4 activated tissue resident macrophages determines strain-specific synergistic responses to LPS epigenetically

How macrophages in the tissue environment integrate multiple stimuli depends on the genetic background of the host, but this is still poorly understood. We investigate IL-4 activation of male C57BL/6 and BALB/c strain specific in vivo tissue-resident macrophages (TRMs) from the peritoneal cavity. C57BL/6 TRMs are more transcriptionally responsive to IL-4 stimulation, with induced genes associated with more super enhancers, induced enhancers, and topologically associating domains (TAD) boundaries. IL-4-directed epigenomic remodeling reveals C57BL/6 specific enrichment of NF-κB, IRF, and STAT motifs. Additionally, IL-4-activated C57BL/6 TRMs demonstrate an augmented synergistic response upon in vitro lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure, despite naïve BALB/c TRMs displaying a more robust transcriptional response to LPS. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis of mixed bone marrow chimeras indicates that transcriptional differences and synergy are cell intrinsic within the same tissue environment. Hence, genetic variation alters IL-4-induced cell intrinsic epigenetic reprogramming resulting in strain specific synergistic responses to LPS exposure.