Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 21, 2025

"Phagosome Closure Assay" to Visualize Phagosome Formation in Three Dimensions Using Total Internal Reflection Fluorescent Microscopy TIRFM
Published on: August 26, 2016
Membrane Tension and the Role of Ezrin During Phagocytosis
Rhiannon E Roberts1, Sharon Dewitt2, Maurice B Hallett3
1School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Abstract:
During phagocytosis, there is an apparent expansion of the plasma membrane to accommodate the target within a phagosome. This is accompanied (or driven by) a change in membrane tension. It is proposed that the wrinkled topography of the phagocyte surface, by un-wrinkling, provides the additional available membrane and that this explains the changes in membrane tension. There is no agreement as to the mechanism by which unfolding of cell surface wrinkles occurs during phagocytosis, but there is a good case building for the involvement of the actin-plasma membrane crosslinking protein ezrin. Not only have direct measurements of membrane tension strongly implicated ezrin as the key component in establishing membrane tension, but the cortical location of ezrin changes at the phagocytic cup, suggesting that it is locally signalled. This chapter therefore attempts to synthesise our current state of knowledge about ezrin and membrane tension with phagocytosis to provide a coherent hypothesis.
Related Concept Videos
Assembly of the Lipid Bilayer in the ER
A large chunk of any biological membrane is composed of phospholipids. These lipids have a heterogeneous distribution across different subcellular organelles and even between...
Mechanism of Filopodia Formation
Their main function is to guide migrating cells during normal tissue morphogenesis or cancer metastasis by recognizing and making initial contacts with the extracellular matrix. However, they can also act as stationary cell anchors or help to establish communication...
The Role of Actin and Myosin in Non-muscle Cells
Mechanisms of Membrane-bending
Membrane bending can happen due to intrinsic changes in lipid composition or extrinsic association with different proteins. The proteins involved...
Enlargement of the Plasma Membrane
Cell Motility through Blebbing
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...

