ER-mediated phagocytosis: myth or reality

In a manuscript by Touret et al. [1], published in the present issue, the authors oppose a so-called “conventional model ” of phagocytosis involving the plasma membrane (PM) and early endosomes to an “endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-mediated” model, where the ER is the sole source of initial membrane for the formation of phagosomes. We argue that none of these models integrate accurately the sum of knowledge acquired in the last few years on membrane trafficking events during phagocytosis. Moreover, the ER-mediated model shown cer-tainly does not represent our current view. It would have been more appropriate to present as a conventional model the orig-inal concept derived from Elie Metchnikoff’s observations, where the PM is the sole source of membrane, and the alter-native view is that other organelles, including various endo-cytic organelles and ER, also contribute membrane, as pro