Professional phagocytes, such as macrophages, employ different strategies to kill bacteria, including phagosome acidification, generation of reactive oxygen species and zinc poisoning, however the mechanisms underlying zinc accumulation inside phagosomes are not well understood. In their Research Article (Barisch et al, 2018), Caroline Barisch and co-workers use the soil amoeba Dictyostelium, which digests bacteria for nutrition, to monitor the fate of free zinc during phagocytosis of bacteria or latex beads using fluorescent probes. Immediately after particle uptake, zinc localises inside zincosomes that are of lysosomal and post-lysosomal nature, and in phagosomes. As shown for macrophages, zinc can also be delivered to the phagosomes of Dictyostelium through the fusion with zincosomes. The authors then analysed the localisation of the four Dictyostelium zinc transporters (Znt) to endosomes (ZntB), the contractile vacuole (ZntA) and the Golgi complex or recycling endosomes (ZntC, ZntD). Finally, the authors demonstrate that zinc poisoning results in the faster killing of a zinc-sensitive E. coli mutant that is deficient in the zinc efflux P-type ATPase ZntA, indicating that the accumulation of zinc in the phagosome contributes to bacteria killing. These findings suggest that zinc poisoning is an evolutionarily conserved process and might act in concert with other strategies to kill bacteria inside phagosomes.
Zinc poisoning belongs to the killing repertoire of Dictyostelium
- Split-screen
- Views Icon Views
-
Article Versions Icon
Versions
- Version of Record 30 November 2018
- Share Icon Share
-
Tools Icon
Tools
- Search Site
Zinc poisoning belongs to the killing repertoire of Dictyostelium. J Cell Sci 1 December 2018; 131 (23): e2302. doi:
Download citation file:
Advertisement
Cited by
Introducing our new Editors
We welcome three new Editors to Journal of Cell Science - Robert Parton, Richa Rikhy and Simon Cook. You can read more about them in the Editorial from our Editor-in-Chief Michael Way.
2024 Journal Meeting 'Diversity and Evolution in Cell Biology'
Registration is open for our 2024 Journal Meeting Diversity and Evolution in Cell Biology, which aims to bring together evolutionary biologists and cell biologists investigating diverse aspects of cellular physiology. Final registration deadline: 3 May 2024.
Workshop: Physics of the Early Embryonic Cell Divisions
Early-career researchers interested in the roles of nuclear lipids, apply now for one of the ten funded places at this Workshop, which will take place 11-14 November 2024. Application deadline: 17 May.
Reasons to submit to Journal of Cell Science
There are many benefits to publishing in Journal of Cell Science - read more about why you should choose JCS or visit our submission page now.
Propose a new Workshop for 2026
We are now accepting proposals for our 2026 Workshops programme. We aim to be responsive to the community and open to novel initiatives, so if you have a new idea for a biological workshop that you feel would work well, please apply. Applications deadline: 19 July 2024.