Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36121394›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of cell biology2022

Spatiotemporal control of actomyosin contractility by MRCKβ signaling drives phagocytosis.

Ceniz Zihni, Anastasios Georgiadis, Conor M Ramsden, Elena Sanchez-Heras, Alexis J Haas, Britta Nommiste, Olha Semenyuk, James W B Bainbridge, Peter J Coffey, Alexander J Smith and 3 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of cell biology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Phagocytosis by the retinal pigment epithelium: New insights into polarized cell mechanics.BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology · 2025
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Regulation of the rhythmic diversity of daily photoreceptor outer segment phagocytosis in vivo.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2022
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Ceniz ZihniUCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK.
Anastasios GeorgiadisUCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK.
Conor M RamsdenUCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK.
Elena Sanchez-HerasUCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-3228-1559
Alexis J HaasUCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-7791-2425
Britta NommisteUCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK.
Olha SemenyukUCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK.
James W B BainbridgeUCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK.
Peter J CoffeyUCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK.
Alexander J SmithGene and Cell Therapy Group, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK.
Robin R AliUCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK.
Maria S BaldaUCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8427-6746
Karl MatterUCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-8026-7220
University College London · GBNational Health Service · GB

Funding

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/N001133/1Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/N014855/1Moorfields Eye CharityMoorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation TrustNIHR Biomedical Research CentreRetina UKRosetrees TrustUCL Institute of Ophthalmology
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Phagocytosis requires actin dynamics, but whether actomyosin contractility plays a role in this morphodynamic process is unclear. Here, we show that in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), particle binding to Mer Tyrosine Kinase (MerTK), a widely expressed phagocytic receptor, stimulates phosphorylation of the Cdc42 GEF Dbl3, triggering activation of MRCKβ/myosin-II and its coeffector N-WASP, membrane deformation, and cup formation. Continued MRCKβ/myosin-II activity then drives recruitment of a mechanosensing bridge, enabling cytoskeletal force transmission, cup closure, and particle internalization. In vivo, MRCKβ is essential for RPE phagocytosis and retinal integrity. MerTK-independent activation of MRCKβ signaling by a phosphomimetic Dbl3 mutant rescues phagocytosis in retinitis pigmentosa RPE cells lacking functional MerTK. MRCKβ is also required for efficient particle translocation from the cortex into the cell body in Fc receptor-mediated phagocytosis. Thus, conserved MRCKβ signaling at the cortex controls spatiotemporal regulation of actomyosin contractility to guide distinct phases of phagocytosis in the RPE and represents the principle phagocytic effector pathway downstream of MerTK.

Indexed as

ActomyosinMyotonin-Protein KinasePhagocytosisActinsc-Mer Tyrosine KinaseMyosin Type IIProtein-Tyrosine KinasesReceptors, FcActinsActomyosinc-Mer Tyrosine KinaseMyosin Type IIMyotonin-Protein KinaseProtein-Tyrosine KinasesReceptors, Fc

Identifiers

PMID36121394
PMCPMC9485704
OpenAlexW4296327358

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.