MECHANISMS OF PHAGOCYTOSIS

Recent advances in research on phagocytosis include a better appreciat ion of the cross-talk between phagocytic receptors, the definition of multiple signaling domains within these receptors, and a deeper unders tanding of the downstream effector pathways leading to actin polymeriz ation acid particle internalization. Phagosome maturation in macrophag es proceeds via a series of membrane fusion and fission events, which modify the phagosome in small increments, and appears to be regulated, in part, by GTP-binding proteins and perhaps by protein kinase C. The isolation of dysphagic mutants of Dictyostelium discoideum presages t he identification of new genes required for phagocytosis.