Santa-maria is a glial phagocytic receptor that acts with SIMU to recognize and engulf apoptotic neurons
In vertebrates and flies, brain development relies on the removal of surplus apoptotic neurons by phagocytic glia. Here, Hilu-Dadia et al. describe that Santa-maria, a fly homolog of CD36, is a glial receptor for apoptotic neurons, which acts upstream of the known glial receptors SIMU and Draper during Drosophila embryogenesis.