I want to find the protocol for in vitro efferocytosis assay, but I found that almost all the research is based on the macrophage "eat" Jurkat cell debris.
Why are we using the Jurkat cell in the In Vitro Efferocytosis assay? Can I use other cell debris?
related paper:
Subramanian M, Hayes CD, Thome JJ, et al. An AXL/LRP-1/RANBP9 complex mediates DC efferocytosis and antigen cross-presentation in vivo. J Clin Invest. 2014;124(3):1296-1308. doi:10.1172/JCI72051
Gerlach BD, Ampomah PB, Yurdagul A Jr, et al. Efferocytosis induces macrophage proliferation to help resolve tissue injury. Cell Metab. 2021;33(12):2445-2463.e8. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2021.10.015
Happy to answer your question. currently, I am working in the Yurdagul A Jr lab. Jurkat cells have several advantages for use in efferocytosis assays, including their rapid growth in culture, their homogeneity (since they are a cloned cell line), and their relative simplicity (since they are a T cell line with a limited number of cell surface markers). These features make Jurkat cells a useful tool for studying efferocytosis and for comparing the efficiency of efferocytosis under different conditions. I found macrophages, and Jurkat cells ratio is very crucial, which you can't control in cellular debris. it will be very difficult to get the same result with cellular debris.