Multinucleated giant cells (MGCs) form by fusion of macrophages and are presumed to contribute to the removal of debris from tissues.
In a systematic in vitro analysis, authors show in the journal Cell Reports that IL-4-induced MGCs phagocytosed large and complement-opsonized materials more effectively than their unfused M2 macrophage precursors.
MGC expression of complement receptor 4 (CR4) was increased, but it functioned primarily as an adhesion integrin. In contrast, although expression of CR3 was not increased, it became functionally activated during fusion and was located on the extensive membrane ruffles created by excess plasma membrane arising from macrophage fusion.
The combination of increased membrane area and activated CR3 specifically equips MGCs to engulf large complement-coated targets.
Moreover, authors demonstrate these features in vivo in the recently described complement-dependent therapeutic elimination of systemic amyloid deposits by MGCs.
MGCs are evidently more than the sum of their macrophage parts.
http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/abstract/S2211-1247(15)01254-1
Edited
Latest News
Abusive drugs hijack natura…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Mechanism of action of the…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Role of fat in rare neurolo…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
How protein synthesis in de…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Apr
Atlas of mRNA variants in d…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Apr
Other Top Stories
A new role for chaperone, Hsp90
Read more
Molecular details of CRISPR-Cas9 RNA editing technology
Read more
Cutaneous gene therapy to treat cocaine overdose
Read more
The mechanism protecting replicated DNA from degradation
Read more
Nobel Prize for Chemistry goes to "directed evolution of enzymes an…
Read more
Protocols
A programmable targeted pro…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
MemPrep, a new technology f…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
A tangible method to assess…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
Stem cell-derived vessels-o…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Apr
Single-cell biclustering fo…
By newseditor
Posted 01 Apr
Publications
Exploiting pancreatic cance…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Structure of antiviral drug…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Type-I-interferon-responsiv…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Selenium, diabetes, and the…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Long-term neuropsychologica…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar