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Comments on Xiaochen Wang et al. (2001) International C. elegans Meeting "Study of the function of phosphatidylserine receptor in C.elegans" (0)
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Xiaochen Wang, Duncan Ledwich, Valerie A Fadok, & Ding Xue (2001). Study of the function of phosphatidylserine receptor in C.elegans presented in International C. elegans Meeting. Unpublished information; cite only with author permission.
The recognition and clearance of apoptotic cells is an important step during apoptosis. In this process, it has been observed that apoptotic cells lose phospholipid asymmetry and expose phosphatidyserine (PS), an anionic phospholipid, on the outer surface of the plasma membrane. The exposed PS has been proposed to serve as a recognition marker for engulfing cells. How the exposed phosphatidylserine is recognized and mediates the corpse engulfment process is still largely unknown. Recently, a phosphatidylserine receptor (PSR) that appears to mediate specific recognition of PS on apoptotic cells by phagocytes has been identified in humans 1 . It is expressed on the surface of macrophages, fibroblasts and epithelial cells. When transfected into cultured cells, the PSR allows cultured B and T lymphocytes to recognize and engulf apoptotic cells in a phosphatidylserine-specific manner. This phosphatidylserine receptor is highly conserved throughout evolution. We have noted the presence of a homologous gene in C.elegans that shares high sequence homology with human PSR (46% identity). In order to investigate the possible role of the putative worm PSR homolog in the engulfment of dying cells during C. elegans programmed cell death, we are currently performing RNAi experiments and looking for deletions in the PSR homolog locus to examine the loss-of-function phenotypes of worm PSR. We have made several PSR::GFP fusions and are in the process of determining its expression pattern and localization in nematodes. These experiments will help us better understand the function of PSR in nematodes and also will likely provide additional important information about the mechanisms of cell corpse recognition and clearance in C.elegans . 1.Fadok, V.A. etal. A receptor for phosphatidylserine-specific clearance of apoptotic cells. Nature 405,85-90(2000).
