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The macrophage marches on its phagosome: dynamic assays of phagosome function

Abstract

Professional phagocytes ingest particulate material to fulfil a diverse array of functions in a multicellular organism. The ancestral function of phagosomes is digestion; however, through evolution this degradative capacity has become pivotal to the adaptive immune response by processing antigens to be presented to lymphocytes. Moreover, phagocytes have also acquired an active role in microbial killing. This Innovation article describes new assays that probe the biological activities which occur within phagosomes. These assays provide functional insights into how the phagosome fulfils its diverse roles in homeostasis and in innate and adaptive immune responses.

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Figure 1: During maturation the phagosome forms transient interactions with various intracellular organelles.
Figure 2: Real-time measurement of changing phagosomal hydrolase activity in the phagosome during the maturation process.
Figure 3: The phenotypic differences between resting and activated macrophages are reflected in the physiology of their phagosomal compartments.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust that supported the research behind this article. The authors thank R. Yates and D. Fullerton for their contributions to these studies.

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Correspondence to David G. Russell.

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Russell, D., VanderVen, B., Glennie, S. et al. The macrophage marches on its phagosome: dynamic assays of phagosome function. Nat Rev Immunol 9, 594–600 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri2591

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