Cellular control and mechanisms that mediate selective hydrolase recruitment to the phagosome

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Phagocytes are cells named for their ability to engulf or "eat" particulate material via the process of phagocytosis. They function in a diverse array of essential tasks throughout the body, operating at the frontlines to protect the body against invading microbes and also performing numerous housekeeping functions that are necessary for normal growth and maintenance of health. The phagosome is the organelle that is formed within the phagocyte following phagocytosis and is charged with the task of processing the engulfed material appropriately. In primitive phagocytes, such as the amoeba, this organelle serves as the "stomach" of the cell and acts to efficiently and completely digest its contents for cellular nutrition. In phagocytes of higher order organisms, however, the phagosome can be charged to perform a multitude of precise functions, many of which rely on controlled or partial deconstruction of engulfed material. We have evidence to suggest that phagocytes can quickly adapt the enzymatic composition within the phagosome that creates a custom mixture that best suits the task at hand. This higher order of control allows one cell type, such as the tissue macrophage, to be capable of performing numerous tasks within the body. The planned research aims to uncover the scope of this control and the intracellular signaling that orchestrate this process. This fundamental study will be relevant to the research into diseases such as tuberculosis and atherosclerosis, and may also impact the future design of vaccines and drug delivery technologies.