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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 May 1.
Published in final edited form as: Immunol Rev. 2010 May;235(1):172–189. doi: 10.1111/j.0105-2896.2010.00903.x

Fig. 7. Model of phagocytosis of apoptotic cells by TIM-3 or TIM-4+ APCs and antigen cross-presentation.

Fig. 7

APCs phagocytose apoptotic cells via TIM-3 or TIM-4 recognition of PtdSer. The apoptotic cells are transported to an acidic phagolysosome, and antigen is processed and presented to T cells. We believe the outcome of phagocytosis may be different for TIM-3 or TIM-4 cells, as TIM-3 has a tyrosine kinase signaling motif in the cytoplasmic domain but TIM-4 does not. Engagement of TIM-3 on APCs, particularly in conjunction with TLR stimulation, may enhance inflammatory responses by inducing inflammatory cytokine production (70).