The present study investigated when during "in vitro" maturation macrophages (MPhi) express membrane C1q (mC1q), and whether cell activation affects expression and function of mC1q. Although C1q mRNA was repeatedly detected in freshly isolated monocytes using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, C1q protein was observed only in developing MPhi from day 1 to 4 on using immunodetection and flow cytometry. However, the quantity of mC1q and other MPhi membrane proteins differed strikingly in cells from different donors. We report here for the first time that CD14(+) and CD14(-) mC1q-bearing MPhi can develop, and that interferon-gamma increases mC1q display at the cell surface, and mC1q-mediated phagocytosis.