Exp Mol Med.
2017 May;49(5):e331. 10.1038/emm.2017.52.
Engulfment signals and the phagocytic machinery for apoptotic cell clearance
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju, Republic of Korea. psyoon@dongguk.ac.kr iskim14@kist.re.kr
- 2Center for Theragnosis, Biomedical Research Institute, Korea Institute Science and Technology, Seoul, Republic of Korea. psyoon@dongguk.ac.kr iskim14@kist.re.kr
- 3KU-KIST School, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
- KMID: 2382693
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.1038/emm.2017.52
Abstract
- The clearance of apoptotic cells is an essential process for tissue homeostasis. To this end, cells undergoing apoptosis must display engulfment signals, such as "˜find-me' and "˜eat-me' signals. Engulfment signals are recognized by multiple types of phagocytic machinery in phagocytes, leading to prompt clearance of apoptotic cells. In addition, apoptotic cells and phagocytes release tolerogenic signals to reduce immune responses against apoptotic cell-derived self-antigens. Here we discuss recent advances in our knowledge of engulfment signals, the phagocytic machinery and the signal transduction pathways for apoptotic cell engulfment.
