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Updated: May 13, 2026

Measuring Phagosome pH by Ratiometric Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: December 7, 2015
Extracellular acidosis modulates the endocytosis and maturation of macrophages
Xiaoling Kong1, Xianying Tang, Wenjiao Du
1Department of Immunology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Extracellular acidosis is involved in various pathological situations of central nervous system and the effects are largely mediated by acid sensing ion channels (ASICs). However, it remains unclear whether extracellular acidosis affects immune cells. Macrophages are immune cells that play important role in immune reactions. In this study we investigated the impact of extracellular acidosis on the function of bone marrow derived macrophages (BMMs). The results showed that extracellular acidosis upregulated the endocytosis, surface molecular expression and interleukin-10 secretion of BMMs, in which the expression of ASIC1 and ASIC3 was detected. Notably, extracellular acidosis stimulated endocytosis and upregulation of surface molecules expression in BMMs could be abolished by amiloride, a blocker of ASICs, and nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs. Our findings provide new insight into the role of extracellular acidosis in the regulation of immune function and suggest ASICs as new targets for the modulation of immune response.
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