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Impairment of phagocytosis of apoptotic cells and its role in chronic airway diseases

  • Clearance of dead cells: mechanisms, immune responses and implication in the development of diseases
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Abstract

Phagocytosis of dying cells is a complex and dynamic process coordinated by the interaction of many surface molecules, adaptors, and chemotactic molecules, and it is controlled at multiple levels. This well regulated clearance process is of utmost importance for the development and homeostasis of organisms because defective or inefficient phagocytosis may contribute to human pathologies. In this review we discuss recent advances in the knowledge of the molecular interactions involved in recognition and clearance of apoptotic cells and how derangement of these processes can contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic airway diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis and asthma. We will briefly consider how different types of macrophages are implicated in chronic airway diseases. Finally, we will address possible therapeutic strategies, such as the use of macrolide antibiotics and statins, for modulating apoptotic cell clearance.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen) (3G064210 to C.B., O.K. and 3G072810 to D.V.K.), by the Interuniversity Attraction Poles Programme (IUAP)—Belgian state—Belgian Science Policy (P6/35 to C.B.) and “krediet aan navorsers” from Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen, 31507110 to D.V.K.). D.V.K. is a postdoctoral research fellow of the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen), Belgium. We thank Dr. A. Bredan for proofreading the manuscript and W. Drijvers for the art work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Upper Airway Research Laboratory, Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Ghent University Hospital, UZ Gent, MRB, De Pintelaan 185, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Olga Krysko & Claus Bachert

  2. Molecular Signaling and Cell Death Unit, Department for Molecular Biomedical Research, VIB, Ghent, Belgium

    Peter Vandenabeele & Dmitri V. Krysko

  3. Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Peter Vandenabeele & Dmitri V. Krysko

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  1. Olga Krysko
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  2. Peter Vandenabeele
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  3. Dmitri V. Krysko
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  4. Claus Bachert
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Correspondence to Olga Krysko.

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Olga Krysko and Dmitri V. Krysko contributed equally to this work.

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Krysko, O., Vandenabeele, P., Krysko, D.V. et al. Impairment of phagocytosis of apoptotic cells and its role in chronic airway diseases. Apoptosis 15, 1137–1146 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10495-010-0504-x

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