Phagocytosis, the process by which particulate matter is taken up by cells, is characteristic of many cell types including the pigmented epithelium of the eye, Langerhans cells in the skin, the microglia in the brain, and Kupffer cells in the liver. Of particular interest clinically are the...

Phagocytosis is a conserved cellular process in Eukaryotes. A multi-step process, it involves the recognition of particulate material, e.g., microbes and apoptotic cells, their F-actin-driven engulfment and the subsequent destruction of the phagocytized material in phagolysosomes. Distinct...

Phagocytosis is the process used by eukaryotic cells to engulf and ingest foreign particles. In lower eukaryotes this process is mainly used for food uptake while in multicellular organisms phagocytosis is the primary mechanism used to fight infection. Phagocytosis of microbes typically leads...

Recognition of potential pathogens by host cells involved in their destruction is the initial step in generation of sterilizing immunity after epithelial barriers have been penetrated by disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and eukaryotes. One mechanism for recognition is that professional...

Phagocytosis is important for a wide diversity of organisms. From simple unicellular organisms that use phagocytosis to eat, to complex metazoans in which phagocytic cells represent an essential branch of the immune system. Evolution has armed cells with a fantastic repertoire of molecules...

Phagocytosis is an phylogenetically conserved mechanism utilized by many cells to ingest microbial pathogens and apoptotic or necrotic corpses. Recent studies have demonstrated that phagocytosis serves to initiate immunity mediated by both Class I and Class II MHC. Depending on the identity of...

Antigen recognition by cells of the immune system occurs via many mechanisms. One important family of receptors involved in the recognition of immunoglobulin (Ig) coated particles and complexes are Fc receptors. Fc receptors recognize the Fc portion of Ig and are accordingly grouped into...

Phagocytosis of immune-complexes is a dynamic process that is accompanied by the generation of inflammatory/tissue damaging products. Recent advances in the field indicate that this process is subject to regulation by inhibitory Fcg receptors and intracellular phosphatases, including the...

Phagocytosis is the process whereby cells engulf large particles. Phagocytosis is triggered by the interaction of opsonins covering the surface of a phagocytic target with specific phagocyte receptors. In multicellular organisms phagocytosis participates in tissue remodeling and contributes to...

Regulation of the phagocytic process involves complex signaling pathways that lead to particle internalization and destruction. Phagocytosis, however, is not a cellular response occurring as an isolated event. Phagocytic signaling involves the regulation of many phagocytosis-associated cell...