Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Dose Uptake of Platinum- and Ruthenium-based Compound Exposure in Zebrafish by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry with Broader Applications
08:46

Dose Uptake of Platinum- and Ruthenium-based Compound Exposure in Zebrafish by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry with Broader Applications

Published on: April 21, 2022

Engulfment: ingestion and migration with Rac, Rho and TRIO

Peter M Henson1

  • 1National Jewish Medical and Research Center, 1400 Jackson Street, Denver, CO 80206, USA. hensonp@njc.org

Current Biology : CB
|January 15, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Cellular debris removal relies on Rac GTPase, activated by DOCK180/CED-5, ELMO/CED-12, and CrkII/CED-2. This study reveals RhoG/MIG-2 and TRIO/UNC-73 as new upstream activators in worms and mammals.

Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Molecular biology
  • Developmental biology

Background:

  • Apoptotic cell clearance is crucial for tissue homeostasis and preventing inflammation.
  • The GTPase Rac (CED-10 in C. elegans) is a known key regulator of phagocytosis.
  • Rac activation involves a trimolecular complex of DOCK180/CED-5, ELMO/CED-12, and CrkII/CED-2.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify novel upstream regulators of the Rac-mediated apoptotic cell uptake pathway.
  • To investigate the conserved roles of these regulators in both C. elegans and mammalian systems.

Main Methods:

  • Genetic screening in C. elegans to identify mutants with defects in apoptotic cell corpse engulfment.
  • Biochemical assays to confirm protein-protein interactions and GTPase activation.
  • Cell-based assays in mammalian cell lines to validate findings.

Main Results:

  • Identification of RhoG (MIG-2 in C. elegans) as a novel GTPase upstream of Rac in the engulfment pathway.
  • Demonstration that TRIO/UNC-73 acts as the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for RhoG/MIG-2.
  • Conservation of the RhoG/MIG-2 and TRIO/UNC-73 pathway in mammalian cells for efferocytosis.

Conclusions:

  • The pathway regulating apoptotic cell clearance is more complex than previously understood.
  • RhoG GTPase, activated by TRIO, represents a new upstream component controlling Rac-mediated engulfment.
  • This finding provides new targets for understanding and potentially modulating efferocytosis in disease.

More Related Videos

Preparation and Evaluation of 99mTc-labeled Tridentate Chelates for Pre-targeting Using Bioorthogonal Chemistry10:54

Preparation and Evaluation of 99mTc-labeled Tridentate Chelates for Pre-targeting Using Bioorthogonal Chemistry

Published on: February 4, 2017

Synthesis and Characterization of 1,2-Dithiolane Modified Self-Assembling Peptides09:54

Synthesis and Characterization of 1,2-Dithiolane Modified Self-Assembling Peptides

Published on: August 20, 2018

Related Concept Videos

Antiprotozoal Agents01:21

Antiprotozoal Agents

Leishmaniasis is a widespread parasitic disease caused by several Leishmania species. It affects millions of people each year and remains a major public health problem in endemic regions. First-line treatment relies on pentavalent antimonials, including meglumine antimoniate and sodium stibogluconate. Even so, how these drugs work has not been fully clear, especially their interaction with parasite-specific biochemical pathways. One key target is trypanothione reductase (TR), an enzyme that...