Cell death: Phagocytes whet their appetite.

摘要

The engulfment ability of a phagocyte is controlled by its mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), according to a study by Ravichandran and colleagues.The authors reasoned that the 'ingestion' of metabolites from the cells that phagocytes engulf may affect their mitochondrial function. Indeed, phagocytes that had engulfed target cells had a higher MMP than non-engulfing phagocytes. This change was not observed when the phagocytes engulfed synthetic targets, indicating it may be the result of ingesting particular metabolites.