Analysis for Phagocytosis in mice lacking vesicular associated membrane protein-7 (VAMP7)

巨噬细胞的吞噬作用在机体对微生物的免疫应答中起着重要作用。在这项研究中，我们利用缺乏VAMP7基因的小鼠来研究吞噬作用的分子机制，VAMP7基因调节囊泡的运输。这些结果表明VAMP7可能通过一些特定的途径参与巨噬细胞的吞噬和吞噬小体-溶酶体融合。然而，我们也揭示了VAMP7并不调节对疟疾的免疫反应。VAMP7的生理作用仍有待研究。

Phagocytosis by macrophages plays important roles in immune response to microbes. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms of phagocytosis by using mice lacking the VAMP7 gene, which regulate vesicular trafficking. The results show the possible roles of VAMP7 in phagocytosis and phagosome-lysosome fusion in macrophages through some specific pathways. However, we also revealed that VAMP7 does not regulate immune response to malaria. The physiological roles of VAMP7 are still to be investigated.