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Infection biology

Nibbled to death

Nature volume 508, pages 462–463 (2014)Cite this article

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Trogocytosis, a process in which one cell 'takes a bite' out of another, had previously been seen only in immune cells. But the phenomenon has now been found in Entamoeba histolytica, as a way for this parasite to kill host cells. See Letter p.526

Early in an immune response, antigen molecules are captured by antigen-presenting cells and displayed on the cells' surface, where they are recognized by receptors on the surface of lymphocytes (B cells, T cells and natural killer cells)1,2. The lymphocyte then becomes joined to the antigen-presenting cell and extracts these surface molecules along with patches of the cell membrane. This process, termed trogocytosis (from the Greek word trogo, to nibble)2,3, activates the lymphocyte to initiate a specific immune response to that antigen. Until now, trogocytosis had been observed only between immune cells. But in this issue, Ralston et al.4 (page 526) describe a form of trogocytosis carried out by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica, and suggest that this process mediates the destruction of intestinal cells that is seen in amoebiasis — the gastrointestinal infection caused by these unicellular organisms.

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Figure 1: Amoebic trogocytosis.

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  1. Nancy Guillén is in the Department of Cell Biology and Infection, Institut Pasteur, Paris 75015, France.,

    Nancy Guillén

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  1. Nancy Guillén
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Correspondence to Nancy Guillén.

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Guillén, N. Nibbled to death. Nature 508, 462–463 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13223

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