Developmental Cell
Volume 38, Issue 2, 25 July 2016, Pages 135-146
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Review
Diffusion Barriers, Mechanical Forces, and the Biophysics of Phagocytosis

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Phagocytes recognize and eliminate pathogens, alert other tissues of impending threats, and provide a link between innate and adaptive immunity. They also maintain tissue homeostasis, consuming dead cells without causing alarm. The receptor engagement, signal transduction, and cytoskeletal rearrangements underlying phagocytosis are paradigmatic of other immune responses and bear similarities to macropinocytosis and cell migration. We discuss how the glycocalyx restricts access to phagocytic receptors, the processes that enable receptor engagement and clustering, and the remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton that controls the mobility of membrane proteins and lipids and provides the mechanical force propelling the phagocyte membrane toward and around the phagocytic prey.

Keywords

macrophages
dendritic cells
formin
Arp2/3
CD45
CD44
Muc-1

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