Feeding Frenzy

Bacteria, viruses, fungi and even cancer cells are all on the menu for macrophages. These immune cells ‘eat’ their targets through a process called phagocytosis. Too much phagocytosis, however, can be problematic and is implicated in disease processes such as neurodegeneration. Researchers investigate how phagocytosis goes into overdrive by focusing on the SNARE protein syntaxin-2. SNAREs help macrophages form the phagosome, the structure that engulfs microbes and unwelcome cells. In mouse macrophages with reduced amounts of syntaxin-2, phagocytosis of beads coated with an ‘eat me’ signal increased, as revealed by scanning electron microscopy (pictured, right), when compared to normal macrophages (left). However, when these mutant cells phagocytosed E.coli, they were less able to digest the bacteria. Syntaxin-2 is, therefore, a key player for ingestion and digestion and may prove to be a good target for combating excessive phagocytosis in disease.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Lux Fatimathas

Writer

Having pursued science through a career in research, communications and publishing, she is currently a writer and editor for a healthcare marketing agency and also juggles freelance science writing.

• Image from work by Suman Samanta and colleagues
• Dept of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, West Bengal; Dept of Zoology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Journal of Cell Science, August 2025