Exploding the necroptotic bubble

The apoptotic death of cells is accompanied by the exposure of “eat-me” signals that serve to prevent necrotic degradation of apoptotic cells, and thereby prevent inflammation, promote resolution of immune responses, and stimulate tissue repair. These “eat-me” signals include the exposure of phosphatidylserine (PS) on the outer plasma membrane during the early stages of apoptosis as well as on the surface of apoptotic bodies, plasma membrane vesicles that are shed during the later stages of cell death. In our recent publication (PLoS Biol. 15(6):e2002711), we describe similar ‘eat-me’ and ‘find-me’ signals present during necroptosis, challenging some of our common assumptions about regulated forms of lytic death