Effect of growth factor depletion on the proliferation of macrophages, AURKB activity and mRNA levels of AURKB, ESCO2, SUV39H1, and WHSC1. Human blood monocytes were differentiated in 10% FBS and CSF-1 for 6 days. On day 6, cells were either extracted for Western blotting and mRNA isolation or kept in culture until day 10 in either serum-free RPMI 1640 or serum and CSF-1 supplemented media before extraction. (A) Levels of phosphorylated retinoblastoma protein and AURKB activity (H3pS-10) were measured by Western blotting. Levels of mRNA relative to day 6 differentiated macrophages were determined by RT-qPCR for (B) AURKB, (C) ESCO2, (D) other genes as indicated. Data are the mean ± SEM, n = 3 blood donors. p Values were calculated using an ANOVA with Student–Newman–Keuls post-test. *indicates p < 0.05, **indicates p < 0.01, ***indicates p < 0.001.