Phagocytosis is a key aspect of our innate ability to fight infectious diseases. In this study, we have found that fusion of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) with the macrophage plasmalemma, underneath phagocytic cups, is a source of membrane for phagosome formation in macrophages. Successive waves of ER become associated with maturing phagosomes during phagolysosome biogenesis. Thus, the ER appe...

Diverse cellular processes are driven by motor proteins that are recruited to and generate force on lipid membranes. Surprisingly little is known about how membranes control the force from motors and how this may impact specific cellular functions. Here, we show that dynein motors physically cluster into microdomains on the membrane of a phagosome as it matures inside cells. Such geometrical re...

Intracellular parasites (e.g., Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Toxoplasma gondii, and some Chlamydiae) may promote their survival within the host by acting from within phagosomes to prevent phagolysosome formation, thus avoiding exposure to the lysosomal hydrolases. The present studies demonstrate that when sulfatides of M. tuberculosis (anionic trehalose glycolipids largely responsible for the neu...

Changes in oligodendrocytes and astrocytes following repeated brief periods of ischemia were studied in gerbils. The repeated brief periods of cerebral ischemia were produced by occlusion of bilateral common arteries for 3 x 3 min at 1-hour intervals. Oligodendrocytes and astrocytes in hippocampal CA1 regions were examined on 1, 3, 7 and 14 days after ischemia. Seven days after ischemia reperfu...

Response of immune and non-immune cells to pathogens infections is a very dynamic process. It involves the activation/modulation of many pathways leading to actin remodeling, membrane engulfing, phagocytosis, vesicle trafficking, phagolysosome formation, aiming at the destruction of the intruder. These sophisticated and rapid mechanisms rely on post-translational modifications (PTMs) of key hos...

A safer and more effective anti-Tuberculosis vaccine is still an urgent need. We probed the effects of monosodium urate crystals (MSU) on innate immunity to improve the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination. Results showed that in vitro MSU cause an enduring macrophage stimulation of the anti-mycobacterial response, measured as intracellular killing, ROS production and phagolysosome maturat...

Although Candida glabrata is an important human pathogenic yeast, its pathogenicity mechanisms are largely unknown. Immune evasion strategies seem to play key roles during infection, since very little inflammation is observed in mouse models. Furthermore, C. glabrata multiplies intracellularly after engulfment by macrophages. In this study, we sought to identify the strategies that enable C. gl...

Following the chlamydial exposure, a series of events occur in host belonging to innate and adaptive immune systems. The first line defense against infections is mucosal secretions contain various antimicrobial peptides. complement system that can be part triggered by elementary bodies Chlamydiae. Chlamydiae escape from infect epithelial cells. are protected phagolysosome fusion generating incl...