Phagolysosome resolution requires contacts with the endoplasmic reticulum and phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate signalling.

Phosphoinositides have a pivotal role in the maturation of nascent phagosomes into microbicidal phagolysosomes. Following degradation of their contents, mature phagolysosomes undergo resolution, a process that remains largely uninvestigated. Here we studied the role of phosphoinositides in phagolysosome resolution.

Cytoskeleton: septins do the horizontal tango.

Septins are a family of membrane-associated filamentous proteins that are essential in many biological processes, such as cell division. A recent study has provided the first visualization of septin filament formation in real time, leading to important new insights into their organization.

Characterization of presynaptic septin complexes in mammalian hippocampal neurons.

Septins are GTPases that form heteromeric complexes and are linked to neurological disorders. Although several septin subcomplexes have been reported in various mammalian tissues, the cellular and subcellular distribution of these complexes is largely unexplored. Using antibodies against ten mammalian septins, we show that septins diverge with respect to their tissue distribution implying that septin complexes in various tissues have unique composition.

Mammalian septins are required for phagosome formation.

Septins are members of a highly conserved family of filamentous proteins that are required in many organisms for the completion of cytokinesis. In addition, septins have been implicated in a number of important cellular processes and have been suggested to have roles in regulating membrane traffic. Given the proposed role of septins in cell membrane dynamics, we investigated the function of septins during FcgammaR-mediated phagocytosis.