Phagocytosis - in Apoptosis

In Apoptosis

Following apoptosis, the dying cells need to be taken up into the surrounding tissues by macrophages in a process called efferocytosis. One of the features of an apoptotic cell is the presentation of a variety of intracellular molecules on the cell surface, such as calreticulin, phosphatidylserine (From the inner layer of the plasma membrane), annexin A1, and oxidised LDL. These molecules are recognised by receptors on the cell surface of the macrophage such as the phosphatidylserine receptor or by soluble (free floating) receptors such as thrombospondin 1, Gas-6, and MFG-E8, which themselves then bind to other receptors on the macrophage such as CD36 and alpha-v beta-3 integrin. Defects in apoptotic cell clearance is usually associated with impaired phagocytosis of macropghages. Accumulation of apoptotic cell remnants often causes autoimmune disorders, thus pharmacological potentiation of phagocytosis has a medical potential in treatment of certain forms of autoimmune disorders.

Additional information on phagocytosis of apoptotic cells could be found in the book: “Phagocytosis of dying cells: from molecular mechanisms to human diseases” (Eds DV Krysko and P Vandenabeele, 2009, Springer).