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Latest Research News |
Vesicle-Associated Membrane Protein-8/Endobrevin Negatively Regulates Phagocytosis of Bacteria in Dendritic cells. Yong Hou Sunny Ho, Deyu Tarika Cai, Cheng-Chun Wang, Dachuan Huang & Siew Heng Wong
Journal of Immunology 2008 180:3148-3157
Phagocytosis is a specialized mechanism utilized by mammalian cells, particularly the cells of the immune system, such as dendritic cells (DC) and macrophages, to protect the host against infection. It is also one of the processes utilized by antigen-presenting cells in the up-take of antigens for antigen processing and presentation in immature DC. Thus, regulating the efficiency of phagocytosis may potentially control antigen processing and presentation.
The team showed that VAMP-8/Endobrevin, a SNARE protein of the early and late endosomes was recruited to the phagosomes during bacterial ingestion. However, overexpression of VAMP-8 significantly inhibited phagocytosis in DC. Furthermore, the phagocytic activity of VAMP-8 knockout DC was significantly higher than wild-type DC. Thus, VAMP-8 negatively regulates up-take of bacteria via phagocytosis in immature DC.
This discovery, by Dr. Wong Siew Heng, Mr. Ho Yong Hou, Ms. Cai Deyu, Mr. Huang Dachuan of Department of Microbiology, and Dr. Wang Cheng Chun of the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, was recently published in the March 2008 issue of Journal of Immunology.
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 Research
The Department of Microbiology has distinguished itself in biomedical research. Research in the Department encompasses very diverse questions and uses a wide variety of approaches, experimental systems, and techniques. Principal Investigators of the Department are internationally recognized for research on immunology, medical virology, bacteriology, parasitology, molecular biology and biotechnology.
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