scholarly journals Chemokines act as phosphatidylserine-bound “find-me” signals in apoptotic cell clearance

PLoS Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. e3001259
Author(s):  
Sergio M. Pontejo ◽  
Philip M. Murphy

Removal of apoptotic cells is essential for maintenance of tissue homeostasis. Chemotactic cues termed “find-me” signals attract phagocytes toward apoptotic cells, which selectively expose the anionic phospholipid phosphatidylserine (PS) and other “eat-me” signals to distinguish healthy from apoptotic cells for phagocytosis. Blebs released by apoptotic cells can deliver find-me signals; however, the mechanism is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that apoptotic blebs generated in vivo from mouse thymus attract phagocytes using endogenous chemokines bound to the bleb surface. We show that chemokine binding to apoptotic cells is mediated by PS and that high affinity binding of PS and other anionic phospholipids is a general property of many but not all chemokines. Chemokines are positively charged proteins that also bind to anionic glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) on cell surfaces for presentation to leukocyte G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs). We found that apoptotic cells down-regulate GAGs as they up-regulate PS on the cell surface and that PS-bound chemokines, unlike GAG-bound chemokines, are able to directly activate chemokine receptors. Thus, we conclude that PS-bound chemokines may serve as find-me signals on apoptotic vesicles acting at cognate chemokine receptors on leukocytes.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio M. Pontejo ◽  
Philip M. Murphy

AbstractChemokines are positively charged cytokines that attract leukocytes by binding to anionic glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) on endothelial cells for efficient presentation to leukocyte G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The atypical chemokine CXCL16 has been reported to also bind the anionic phospholipid phosphatidylserine (PS), but the biological relevance of this interaction remains poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that PS binding is in fact a widely shared property of chemokine superfamily members that, like GAG binding, induces chemokine oligomerization. PS is an essential phospholipid of the inner leaflet of the healthy cell plasma membrane but it is exposed in apoptotic cells to act as an ‘eat-me’ signal that promotes engulfment of dying cells by phagocytes. We found that chemokines can bind PS in pure form as well as in the context of liposomes and on the surface of apoptotic cells and extracellular vesicles released by apoptotic cells, which are known to act as ‘find-me’ signals that chemoattract phagocytes during apoptotic cell clearance. Importantly, we show that GAGs are severely depleted from the surface of apoptotic cells and that extracellular vesicles extracted from apoptotic mouse thymus bind endogenous thymic chemokines and activate cognate chemokine receptors. Together these results indicate that chemokines tethered to surface-exposed PS may be responsible for the chemotactic and find-me signal activity previously attributed to extracellular vesicles, and that PS may substitute for GAGs as the anionic scaffold that regulates chemokine oligomerization and presentation to GPCRs on the GAG-deficient membranes of apoptotic cells and extracellular vesicles. Here, we present a new mechanism by which extracellular vesicles, currently recognized as essential agents for intercellular communication in homeostasis and disease, can transport signaling cytokines.


Author(s):  
Emma Louise Armitage ◽  
Hannah Grace Roddie ◽  
Iwan Robert Evans

AbstractApoptotic cell clearance by phagocytes is a fundamental process during development, homeostasis and the resolution of inflammation. However, the demands placed on phagocytic cells such as macrophages by this process, and the limitations these interactions impose on subsequent cellular behaviours are not yet clear. Here we seek to understand how apoptotic cells affect macrophage function in the context of a genetically-tractable Drosophila model in which macrophages encounter excessive amounts of apoptotic cells. We show that loss of the glial transcription factor repo, and corresponding removal of the contribution these cells make to apoptotic cell clearance, causes macrophages in the developing embryo to be challenged with large numbers of apoptotic cells. As a consequence, macrophages become highly vacuolated with cleared apoptotic cells and their developmental dispersal and migration is perturbed. We also show that the requirement to deal with excess apoptosis caused by a loss of repo function leads to impaired inflammatory responses to injury. However, in contrast to migratory phenotypes, defects in wound responses cannot be rescued by preventing apoptosis from occurring within a repo mutant background. In investigating the underlying cause of these impaired inflammatory responses, we demonstrate that wound-induced calcium waves propagate into surrounding tissues, including neurons and glia of the ventral nerve cord, which exhibit striking calcium waves on wounding, revealing a previously unanticipated contribution of these cells during responses to injury. Taken together these results demonstrate important insights into macrophage biology and how repo mutants can be used to study macrophage-apoptotic cell interactions in the fly embryo.Furthermore, this work shows how these multipurpose cells can be ‘overtasked’ to the detriment of their other functions, alongside providing new insights into which cells govern macrophage responses to injury in vivo.


2004 ◽  
Vol 167 (6) ◽  
pp. 1161-1170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Devitt ◽  
Kate G. Parker ◽  
Carol Anne Ogden ◽  
Ceri Oldreive ◽  
Michael F. Clay ◽  
...  

Interaction of macrophages with apoptotic cells involves multiple steps including recognition, tethering, phagocytosis, and anti-inflammatory macrophage responses. Defective apoptotic cell clearance is associated with pathogenesis of autoimmune disease. CD14 is a surface receptor that functions in vitro in the removal of apoptotic cells by human and murine macrophages, but its mechanism of action has not been defined. Here, we demonstrate that CD14 functions as a macrophage tethering receptor for apoptotic cells. Significantly, CD14−/− macrophages in vivo are defective in clearing apoptotic cells in multiple tissues, suggesting a broad role for CD14 in the clearance process. However, the resultant persistence of apoptotic cells does not lead to inflammation or increased autoantibody production, most likely because, as we show, CD14−/− macrophages retain the ability to generate anti-inflammatory signals in response to apoptotic cells. We conclude that CD14 plays a broad tethering role in apoptotic cell clearance in vivo and that apoptotic cells can persist in the absence of proinflammatory consequences.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary I. Blume ◽  
Jared M. Lambert ◽  
Anna G. Lovel ◽  
Diana M. Mitchell

AbstractBackgroundMicroglia colonize the developing vertebrate central nervous system coincident with detection of developmental apoptosis. Our understanding of apoptosis in intact tissue in relation to microglial clearance of dying cells is largely based on fixed samples, which is limiting given that microglia are highly motile and mobile phagocytes. Here, we used a system of microglial depletion and in vivo real-time imaging in zebrafish to directly address microglial phagocytosis of apoptotic cells during normal retinal development, the relative timing of phagocytosis in relation to apoptotic progression, and the contribution of P2RY12 signaling to this process.ResultsDepletion of microglia resulted in accumulation of numerous apoptotic cells in the retina. Real-time imaging revealed precise timing of microglial engulfment with the progression of apoptosis, and dynamic movement and displacement of engulfed apoptotic cells. Inhibition of P2RY12 signaling delayed microglial clearance of apoptotic cells.ConclusionsMicroglial engulfment of dying cells is coincident with apoptotic progression and requires P2RY12 signaling, indicating that microglial P2RY12 signaling is shared between development and injury response. Our work provides important in vivo insight into the dynamics of apoptotic cell clearance in the developing vertebrate retina and provides a basis to understand microglial phagocytic behavior in health and disease.Bullet PointsLevels and location of developmental apoptosis in the zebrafish retina are elusive due to rapid and efficient clearance by microgliaMicroglial clearance of apoptotic cells is timed with the progression of apoptosis of the engulfed cell so that many cells are cleared in relatively early apoptotic stagesP2RY12 signaling is involved in microglial sensing and clearance of cells undergoing normal developmental apoptosis, indicating shared signals in microglial responses to cell death in both healthy and injured tissueGrant SponsorsNIH NIGMS Grant No. P20 GM103408


2000 ◽  
Vol 192 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip R. Taylor ◽  
Anna Carugati ◽  
Valerie A. Fadok ◽  
H. Terence Cook ◽  
Mark Andrews ◽  
...  

The strongest susceptibility genes for the development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in humans are null mutants of classical pathway complement proteins. There is a hierarchy of disease susceptibility and severity according to the position of the missing protein in the activation pathway, with the severest disease associated with C1q deficiency. Here we demonstrate, using novel in vivo models of apoptotic cell clearance during sterile peritonitis, a similar hierarchical role for classical pathway complement proteins in vivo in the clearance of apoptotic cells by macrophages. Our results constitute the first demonstration of an impairment in the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells by macrophages in vivo in a mammalian system. Apoptotic cells are thought to be a major source of the autoantigens of SLE, and impairment of their removal by complement may explain the link between hereditary complement deficiency and the development of SLE.


2010 ◽  
Vol 207 (9) ◽  
pp. 1807-1817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kodi S. Ravichandran

Everyday we turnover billions of cells. The quick, efficient, and immunologically silent disposal of the dying cells requires a coordinated orchestration of multiple steps, through which phagocytes selectively recognize and engulf apoptotic cells. Recent studies have suggested an important role for soluble mediators released by apoptotic cells that attract phagocytes (“find-me” signals). New information has also emerged on multiple receptors that can recognize phosphatidylserine, the key “eat-me” signal exposed on the surface of apoptotic cells. This perspective discusses recent exciting progress, gaps in our understanding, and the conflicting issues that arise from the newly acquired knowledge.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 3499
Author(s):  
Stefan Reuter ◽  
Dominik Kentrup ◽  
Alexander Grabner ◽  
Gabriele Köhler ◽  
Konrad Buscher ◽  
...  

In the context of transplantation, complement activation is associated with poor prognosis and outcome. While complement activation in antibody-mediated rejection is well-known, less is known about complement activation in acute T cell-mediated rejection (TCMR). There is increasing evidence that complement contributes to the clearance of apoptotic debris and tissue repair. In this regard, we have analysed published human kidney biopsy transcriptome data clearly showing upregulated expression of complement factors in TCMR. To clarify whether and how the complement system is activated early during acute TCMR, experimental syngeneic and allogeneic renal transplantations were performed. Using an allogeneic rat renal transplant model, we also observed upregulation of complement factors in TCMR in contrast to healthy kidneys and isograft controls. While staining for C4d was positive, staining with a C3d antibody showed no C3d deposition. FACS analysis of blood showed the absence of alloantibodies that could have explained the C4d deposition. Gene expression pathway analysis showed upregulation of pro-apoptotic factors in TCMR, and apoptotic endothelial cells were detected by ultrastructural analysis. Monocytes/macrophages were found to bind to and phagocytise these apoptotic cells. Therefore, we conclude that early C4d deposition in TCMR may be relevant to the clearance of apoptotic cells.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenghua Wang ◽  
Bing Zhao ◽  
Xiang Liu ◽  
Xiaowei Yang

Abstract Background SSA/Ro 60 has been reported to be exposed on the surface of early apoptotic cells and recognized by autoantibodies from lupus. The aim of this study was to explore the subsequent effects of the binding of IgG from anti-SSA positive LN patients on the fate of early apoptotic cells. Results IgG which have been confirmed with extensive binding to early apoptotic cells were purified from three anti-SSA positive LN patients. Opsonization of early apoptotic cells by IgG from LN augmented C3c deposition without influence on the assembly of the terminal complement components or cell lysis. IgG from LN enhanced opsonization and phagocytosis of early apoptotic cells by macrophages directly or dependent on complement activation, with massive TNF-a and IL-1β secretions. Conclusions IgG from anti-SSA positive LN facilitates early apoptotic cell clearance by macrophages and triggers proinflammatory cytokines release, possibly exacerbating underlying pathogenic mechanisms in lupus nephritis.


2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leland L Black ◽  
Brian W Parks ◽  
Kurt A Zimmerman ◽  
Allison E Metz ◽  
Chad Steele ◽  
...  

Oxidatively modified lipids and their by-products presented or released by cells undergoing apoptosis are thought to regulate phagocytic uptake of apoptotic cells by macrophages (efferocytosis) through CD36 scavenger and G2A chemotactic receptors. Although the ability of these receptors to mediate clearance of apoptotic cells in the context of atherosclerosis may have significant impact on lesion development and progression/stability, an overabundance of the lipid ligands for these receptors (CD36: oxidized phospholipids, G2A: lysophosphatidylcholine) as a result of oxidative processes associated with atherogenesis could conceivably impair these clearance mechanisms. Because the indolent nature of atherosclerotic lesion development precludes an accurate assessment of the spatial and kinetic features of lesional efferocytosis, we employed a bleomycin-induced model of lung injury to assess the requirement for G2A and CD36 in efferocytosis. This is a model which, similarly to atherogenesis, is associated with oxidative stress, but in which local apoptosis can be induced and efferocytosis subsequently measured over time. As there is substantial in vivo evidence that ApoE has a role in efferocytosis, we included ApoE knock-out mice as controls. Loss of CD36 (similarly to ApoE deficiency) delayed the clearance of apoptotic alveolar cells, potentiated inflammation (increase in lung neutrophils, lung KC [CXCL1] levels, and lung macrophages) and reduced lung fibrosis following bleomycin-induced lung injury. Reduced fibrosis in CD36-/- mice was associated with lower levels of pro-fibrotic TH2 cytokines (IL-9, IL-13, IL-4), decreased expression of the M2 macrophage marker Arginase-1 and reduced interstitial myofibroblasts. Despite the widely held notion that G2A mediates an LPC dependent “find me” signal in macrophages facilitating apoptotic cell clearance, G2A deficiency had no significant effect on the clearance of apoptotic cells in the bleomycin-induced lung injury model. Our results show that CD36 and ApoE (but not G2A) are important for apoptotic cell clearance following lung injury and subsequently modulate inflammatory and fibrotic processes that could impact not only inflammatory lung disease but also atherosclerosis.


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