Phosphatidylserine Externalization Results from and Causes Neurite Degeneration in Drosophila.

Phagocytic clearance of degenerating dendrites or axons is critical for maintaining tissue homeostasis and preventing neuroinflammation. Externalized phosphatidylserine (PS) has been postulated to be an "eat-me" signal allowing recognition of degenerating neurites by phagocytes. Here we show that in Drosophila, PS is dynamically exposed on degenerating dendrites during developmental pruning and after physical injury, but PS exposure is suppressed when dendrite degeneration is genetically blocked.