The curious world of apoptotic cell clearance

when she realized the startling effects of ingesting a small cake on which the words ‘Eat me’ were beautifully marked in currants [1]. The world of apoptosis research is every bit as wonderful and full of surprises as the Wonderland that Alice discovered. Dying cells display enticing ‘eat me’ signals and a collection of colorful molecular characters to ensure their digestion. Now, in Journal of Biology [2], Andreas Lengeling and colleagues reveal more surprises about the phosphatidylserine receptor (Ptdsr) molecule that was first cloned as a receptor responsible for the phosphatidylserine-specific clearance of apoptotic cells (see ‘The bottom line’ box for a summary of the work).