ORCID
- Gyorgy Fejer: 0000-0001-6761-0506
Abstract
Vomocytosis, also known as nonlytic exocytosis, is a process whereby fully phagocytosed microbes are expelled from phagocytes without discernible damage to either the phagocyte or microbe. Although this phenomenon was first described in the opportunistic fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans in 2006, to date, mechanistic studies have been hampered by an inability to reliably stimulate or inhibit vomocytosis. Here we present the fortuitous discovery that macrophages lacking the scavenger receptor MAcrophage Receptor with COllagenous domain (MARCO), exhibit near-total vomocytosis of internalised cryptococci within a few hours of infection. Marco−/− macrophages also showed elevated vomocytosis of a yeast-locked C. albicans strain, suggesting this to be a broadly relevant observation. We go on to show that MARCO's role in modulating vomocytosis is independent of its role as a phagocytic receptor, suggesting that this protein may play an important and hitherto unrecognised role in modulating macrophage behaviour.
DOI Link
Publication Date
2024-01-01
Publication Title
European Journal of Immunology
Volume
54
Issue
6
ISSN
0014-2980
Acceptance Date
2024-03-05
Deposit Date
2026-07-29
Additional Links
Keywords
Cryptococcus, Fungal pathogen, Innate immunity, Macrophage, MARCO, Vomocytosis
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Onyishi, C., Jeon, Y., Fejer, G., Mukhopadhyay, S., Gordon, S., & May, R. (2024) 'Loss of the scavenger receptor MARCO results in uncontrolled vomocytosis of fungi from macrophages', European Journal of Immunology, 54(6). Available at: 10.1002/eji.202350771
