ArticleMolecular biology of the cell2009
Macrophages create an acidic extracellular hydrolytic compartment to digest aggregated lipoproteins.
Article in Molecular biology of the cell, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 72 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
72 citing papers in PubMed.
- Involvement of lysosomal proteins in morphology-driven toxicity of (nano)fibers.Archives of toxicology · 2026Review
- Increased transvascular retention of atherogenic lipoproteins in type 2 diabetes relates to their enhanced proteoglycan binding.JCI insight · 2026Article
- Protocol for the quantification of digestive exophagy in cell culture.STAR protocols · 2026Article
- Liver-specific gene therapy based on self-complementary adeno-associated virus for lysosomal acid lipase deficiency.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- A mechanistic hypothesis: osteopathic manipulative therapy may modulate immune cell function in chronic low back pain.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Lysosomal exocytosis by macrophages as a druggable mechanism for anti-inflammatory clearance of dead adipocytes in adipose tissue.Cell death & disease · 2025Article
- Real-time pH imaging of macrophage lysosomes using the pH-sensitive probe ApHID.Cell reports methods · 2025Article
- Biopersistence of man-made vitreous fibres (MMVF) / synthetic vitreous fibres (SVF): advancing from animal models to acellular testing.Particle and fibre toxicology · 2025Review
- High-Content Microscopy Drug Screening Platform for Regulators of the Extracellular Digestion of Lipoprotein Aggregates by Macrophages.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2025Article
- Lysosomes in the immunometabolic reprogramming of immune cells in atherosclerosis.Nature reviews. Cardiology · 2025Review
- Microglia degrade Alzheimer's amyloid-beta deposits extracellularly via digestive exophagy.Cell reports · 2024Article
- Reduced Intra- and Extracellular Circulating Postprandial Lysosomal Acid Lipase Activity in Patients with MASLD.Metabolites · 2024Article
- Dynamic Roles and Expanding Diversity of Adipose Tissue Macrophages in Obesity.Journal of obesity & metabolic syndrome · 2024Review
- The Functions of SARS-CoV-2 Receptors in Diabetes-Related Severe COVID-19.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Signaling pathways regulating the extracellular digestion of lipoprotein aggregates by macrophages.Molecular biology of the cell · 2024Article
- Recent insights into lysosomal acid lipase deficiency.Trends in molecular medicine · 2023Review
- The formation and consequences of cholesterol-rich deposits in atherosclerotic lesions.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2023Review
- Macrophage-, Dendritic-, Smooth Muscle-, Endothelium-, and Stem Cells-Derived Foam Cells in Atherosclerosis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Article
- Through the layers: how macrophages drive atherosclerosis across the vessel wall.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2022Review
12 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
A critical event in atherogenesis is the interaction of macrophages with subendothelial lipoproteins. Although most studies model this interaction by incubating macrophages with monomeric lipoproteins, macrophages in vivo encounter lipoproteins that are aggregated. The physical features of the lipoproteins require distinctive mechanisms for their uptake. We show that macrophages create an extracellular, acidic, hydrolytic compartment to carry out digestion of aggregated low-density lipoproteins. We demonstrate delivery of lysosomal contents to these specialized compartments and their acidification by vacuolar ATPase, enabling aggregate catabolism by lysosomal acid hydrolases. We observe transient sealing of portions of the compartments, allowing formation of an "extracellular" proton gradient. An increase in free cholesterol is observed in aggregates contained in these compartments. Thus, cholesteryl ester hydrolysis can occur extracellularly in a specialized compartment, a lysosomal synapse, during the interaction of macrophages with aggregated low-density lipoprotein. A detailed understanding of these processes is essential for developing strategies to prevent atherosclerosis.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.