A phagosome of one's own: a microbial guide to life in the macrophage.
Macrophages protect their host by engulfing foreign bodies within phagosomes that rapidly develop into microbicidal organelles. Numerous pathogens, such as species of Toxoplasma, Leishmania, Mycobacterium, Salmonella and Legionella, thrive in human macrophages, sometimes with disastrous effects. Defining the survival tactics of intracellular parasites is one approach to understanding macrophage function. Here, we briefly review phagosome maturation, then discuss how particular microbes may target particular host factors to short-circuit membrane traffic in macrophages. Recent studies support a new paradigm in which pathogens evade lysosomal degradation by entering macrophages within specialized lipid microdomains of the plasma membrane.
Amer
Amal O
AO
University of Michigan Medical School, 6734 Medical Sciences Building II, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0620, USA.
Swanson
Michele S
MS
D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology; D004705:Endocytosis / Q000502:physiology; D011992:Endosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000737:chemistry; D008247:Lysosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D008264:Macrophages / Q000502:physiology*; D008561:Membrane Fusion / Q000276:immunology; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D010588:Phagosomes / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D037521:Virulence Factors
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008074:Lipoproteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors