Eph receptors bind ephrins on neighboring cells, oligomerizing into adhesive complexes that recruit signaling molecules. Execution of their signature repulsive program then generates pulling forces, enabling a cell to engulf a piece of another cell. New mechanistic insights by Gong et al. (2019. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201901032) define this process as a form of "cellular cannibalism."
© 2019 Pasquale.