Cell surface receptors TREM2, CD14 and integrin αMβ2 drive sinking engulfment in phosphatidylserine-mediated phagocytosis

Macrophages phagocytose and thereby eliminate a wide array of extracellular threats, ranging from antibody-coated bacteria to apoptotic cells. Precision modulation of phagocytosis has emerged as a therapeutic strategy across a range of diseases, but is limited by our incomplete understanding of how macrophages recognize, engulf, and respond to different phagocytic targets. Here, we undertook a systematic investigation of the morphological, biophysical and regulatory differences between two major types of phagocytosis: an immunostimulatory form of phagocytosis triggered by antibody-coated targets and an immunosuppressive form triggered by phosphatidylserine (PS)-coated targets. We confirmed classic observations that antibody-mediated phagocytosis involves the extension of thin actin-rich protrusions around the target, but find that PS-mediated phagocytosis involves an unexpected combination of filopodial probing, piecemeal phagocytosis and a distinct sinking mechanism of uptake. Using a genome-wide screening approach, we identified genes specifically required for each form of phagocytosis, including actin regulators, cell surface receptors and intracellular signaling molecules. Three cell surface receptors - TREM2, CD14 and integrin M{beta}2 - were revealed as essential for PS-mediated uptake. Strikingly, each receptor exhibited a distinct pattern of localization at the plasma membrane and contributed uniquely to the organization of the PS-dependent phagocytic cup. Overall, this work reveals divergent genetic requirements for the morphologically and mechanically distinct forms of PS-mediated and antibody-mediated phagocytosis, thereby informing therapeutic strategies for substrate-specific phagocytosis modulation.