Savill J, Dransfield I, Hogg N, Haslett C
Department of Medicine, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK.
Nature. 1990 Jan 11;343(6254):170-3. doi: 10.1038/343170a0.
Phagocyte recognition of cells that have undergone apoptosis (programmed cell death) is an event of broad biological significance. Characterized by endogenous endonuclease activation, which results in chromatin fragmentation and nuclear condensation, apoptosis leads to swift ingestion of intact but 'senescent' or 'unwanted' cells by phagocytes in processes as diverse as the physiological involution of organs, the remodelling of embryonic tissues, and metamorphosis. The cell-surface mechanisms by which macrophages recognize apoptotic cells as 'senescent-self' have remained obscure. Here we report that macrophage recognition of apoptotic cells (both neutrophils and lymphocytes) is mediated by the vitronectin receptor, a heterodimer belonging to the beta 3 or cytoadhesin family of the integrins. Previously, the functions of the vitronectin receptor were believed to be limited to cell anchorage, but our findings indicate that the receptor has a novel and direct role in self-senescent-self intercellular recognition leading to macrophage phagocytosis of cells undergoing apoptosis.
吞噬细胞识别经历凋亡（程序性细胞死亡）的细胞是一个具有广泛生物学意义的事件。凋亡以内源性核酸内切酶激活为特征，这导致染色质片段化和核浓缩，在诸如器官的生理性退化、胚胎组织重塑和变态等多种过程中，凋亡会使吞噬细胞迅速摄取完整但“衰老”或“不需要”的细胞。巨噬细胞将凋亡细胞识别为“衰老自身”的细胞表面机制一直不明。在此，我们报告巨噬细胞对凋亡细胞（中性粒细胞和淋巴细胞）的识别是由玻连蛋白受体介导的，该受体是一种异二聚体，属于整合素的β3或细胞粘附素家族。以前，人们认为玻连蛋白受体的功能仅限于细胞锚定，但我们的研究结果表明，该受体在导致巨噬细胞吞噬凋亡细胞的自身衰老自身细胞间识别中具有新的直接作用。
