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To elucidate the actions of Draper, a receptor responsible for the phagocytic clearance of apoptotic cells in Drosophila, we isolated proteins that bind to the extracellular region of Draper using affinity chromatography. One of those proteins has been identified to be an uncharacterized protein called Drosophila melanogaster calcium-binding protein 1 (DmCaBP1). This protein containing the thioredoxin-like domain resided in the endoplasmic reticulum and seemed to be expressed ubiquitously throughout the development of Drosophila. DmCaBP1 was externalized without truncation after the induction of apoptosis some what prior to chromatin condensation and DNA cleavage in a manner dependent on the activity of caspases. A recombinant DmCaBP1 protein bound to both apoptotic cells and a hemocyte-derived cell line expressing Draper. Forced expression of DmCaBP1 at the cell surface made non-apoptotic cells susceptible to phagocytosis. Flies deficient in DmCaBP1 expression developed normally and showed Draper-mediated pruning of larval axons, but a defect in the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells in embryos was observed. Loss of Pretaporter, a previously identified ligand for Draper, did not cause a further decrease in the level of phagocytosis in DmCaBP1-lacking embryos. These results collectively suggest that the endoplasmic reticulum protein DmCaBP1 is externalized upon the induction of apoptosis and serves as a tethering molecule to connect apoptotic cells and phagocytes for effective phagocytosis to occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Apoptotic cell phagocytosis is initiated through the specific interaction between markers for phagocytosis present at the surface of targets and their receptors of phagocytes. Although many molecules have been proposed to be phagocytosis markers and receptors in mammals, information as to the identity of those molecules is limited for invertebrate animals. Calreticulin, a molecular chaperone that functions in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum, was recently reported to be the second general marker, the membrane phospholipid phosphatidylserine being the first, for mammalian apoptotic cells to be recognized by phagocytes. We here asked whether or not calreticulin serves as a marker for phagocytosis in Drosophila. Phagocytosis of apoptotic S2 cells by Drosophila hemocyte-derived l(2)mbn cells, which we previously showed to occur independent of phosphatidylserine, was inhibited by the addition of anti-calreticulin antibody. This inhibition was observed when the target cells, but not phagocytes, were pre-incubated with the antibody. In addition, RNA interference-mediated reduction of calreticulin expression in apoptotic S2 cells, but not in l(2)mbn cells, reduced the level of phagocytosis. An immunocytochemical analysis revealed that calreticulin is widely distributed at the surface of viable S2 cells. After the induction of apoptosis, cell surface calreticulin seemed to form aggregates, with no change in its amount. Furthermore, in embryos of a mutant Drosophila strain that expresses calreticulin at a reduced level, the level of phagocytosis of apoptotic cells was about a half of that observed in embryos of a wild-type strain. These results collectively indicate that calreticulin is the first molecule to be identified as a marker for phagocytosis of apoptotic cells by Drosophila phagocytes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]