Berlin 2015 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 18: Membranes and vesicles I (joint BP/CPP)

BP 18.6: Talk

Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 11:15–11:30, H 1028

The Mechanism of Phagocytosis: Two Stages of Engulfment — •David M. Richards and Robert G. Endres — Imperial College London, UK

Despite being of vital importance to the immune system, the mechanism by which cells engulf relatively large solid particles during phagocytosis is still poorly understood. From movies of neutrophil phagocytosis of polystyrene beads, we measure the fractional engulfment as a function of time and demonstrate that phagocytosis occurs in two distinct stages. During the first stage, engulfment is relatively slow and progressively slows down as phagocytosis proceeds. However, at approximately half-engulfment, the rate of engulfment increases dramatically, with complete engulfment attained soon afterwards. By studying simple mathematical models of phagocytosis, we suggest that the first stage is due to a passive mechanism, determined by receptor diffusion and capture, whereas the second stage is more actively controlled, perhaps with receptors being driven towards the site of engulfment. We then consider a more advanced model that includes signalling and captures both stages of engulfment. This model predicts that there is an optimum ligand density for quick engulfment. Further, we show how this model explains why non-spherical particles engulf quickest when presented tip-first.