Recognition and Removal of Apoptotic Cells

TL;DRAbstract

This chapter discusses the recognition of apoptotic cells by phagocytes, the mechanisms of apoptotic cell phagocytosis (efferocytosis), and some of the consequences of this recognition. It illustrates, with a few nonexhaustive examples, some of the possibilities for contribution of apoptotic cell recognition and/or its mechanisms to host-parasite interrelationships. In viable cells, phosphatidylserine (PS) is generally located on the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane, which is also enriched for phosphatidylethanolamine, whereas sphingomyelin is localized to the outer leaflet along with most of the phosphatidylcholine (PC). Under certain circumstances, activation of cells leads to increased flip-flop and, as a consequence, exposure of PS. Recent studies have implicated calreticulin as a ligand on apoptotic cells that can be recognized and contributes to their removal. The possibility that thrombospondin (TSP) can act as a glue to hold everything together is intriguing. The key featur

Chat with Paper

AI Agents for this Paper