Hello,
I am new to the field of phagocytosis/apoptosis, and have seen that many phagocytic pathways rely on the recognition on PS in target cells for the initiation of this process. Are there any other/alternative signals on the cellular surface that could be exposed/recognized by phagocytes instead of PS, or is the initiation of phagocytosis a pretty conserved process?
Thanks in advance!
hi
You asked a clever question. By finding the answer, you will make a diagnostic kit equivalent as Anexin V-FITC Or you will use it to treat cancer.
Reading the following is not a pleasure to read.
http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/blocking-dont-eat-me-signal-on-cancer-cells-lets-phagocytes-clean-up/81246548
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27569584
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2010/12/many-cancer-cells-found-to-have-an-eat-me-signal-in-study.html
good luck
Hi Ariadne, cellular phagocytosis is a very controlled process that may or may not involve apoptosis.
Consider the liver, which is responsible for removing red blood cells, platelets, white blood cells, etc from the circulation when they reach their expiration dates.
The liver has resident macrophages (Kupffer cells) in huge numbers that are constantly phagocytosing blood cells and proteins.
I'm not sure of what surface signal(s) are recognized by the Kupffer cells, but they are damn efficient in making sure that no damaged blood cells or proteins make it past them.
Thank you everyone for your answers! Do you guys know of a way to quantify PS exposed in the outer membrane of a cell? I know annexin-V doesn't quite do the trick...
Hi Ariadne, as far as I can tell, the annexin V is the only game in town.
If anybody has a an easier assay for PS that is more quantitative........
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