Mechanisms of frustrated phagocytic spreading of human neutrophils on antibody-coated surfaces

Complex motions of immune cells are an integral part of diapedesis, chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and other vital processes. To better understand how immune cells execute such motions, we present a detailed analysis of phagocytic spreading of human neutrophils on flat surfaces functionalized with different densities of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. We visualize the cell-substrate contact region at high resolution and without labels using reflection interference contrast microscopy and quantify how the area, shape, and position of the contact region evolves over time. We find that the likelihood of the cell commitment to spreading strongly depends on the surface density of IgG, but the rate at which the substrate-contact area of spreading cells increases does not. Validated by a theoretical companion study, our results resolve controversial notions about the mechanisms controlling cell spreading, establishing that active forces generated by the cytoskeleton rather than cell-substrate adhesion primarily drive cellular protrusion. Adhesion, on the other hand, aids phagocytic spreading by regulating the cell commitment to spreading, the maximum cell-substrate contact area, and the directional movement of the contact region.