Mariangeliz Delgado Lopez
University of Puerto Rico, Humacao
Faculty Advisor: Prof. Bryan Bryson
Department: Biological Engineering
Biography
Mariangeliz Delgado López is a rising junior in Microbiology at the University of Puerto
Rico at Humacao. Raised in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico, she discovered her passion for research in
fifth grade through a project exploring Rhizophora mangle ecosystems. After Hurricane Maria
struck Puerto Rico, she expanded this work throughout high school to examine the storm’s effects
on these ecosystems, incorporating chemical and microbiological methods under university
mentorship. Her current research investigates the antitumoral potential of bioactive compounds in
human cancer cell models, reflecting her interests in microbiology, cell biology, and translational
medicine. She also develops computational tools that streamline research workflows. Beyond the
lab, she has participated in Amgen-sponsored workshops, volunteered with MEDLIFE in Ecuador,
and supported biodiversity conservation through Zoocriadero de Mariposas Alianza Verde. Now
in her second year with the MIT Summer Research Program, she continues strengthening her
confidence as a researcher while preparing for a career as a physician-scientist.
Barcoding Phagosomes in Macrophages and Characterizing Lysosomal
Membrane Damage in THP-1 cells
Mariangeliz Delgado López1 and Bryan Bryson, PhD2
1Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Humacao Campus
2Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard
Phagocytosis is a component of the innate immune response in which membrane-bound compartments
called phagosomes engulf pathogens, dead cells and foreign material before fusing with lysosomes to form
degradative phagolysosomes. Although considerable progress has been made in characterizing phagosome
function and lysosomal damage-response pathways, approaches provide limited tools to track phagosome
identity and reliably detect lysosomal membrane damage. This gap limits our understanding of phagosome
regulation and endomembrane integrity during immune responses. To address these challenges, we are
developing complementary approaches for phagosome barcoding in macrophages and lysosomal damage
detection in THP-1 cells. A CD68-V5 construct will be engineered and expressed in macrophages by
lentiviral transduction to label phagosomal membranes. Immunofluorescence microscopy and phagosome
cytometry will visualize and quantitatively analyze labeled phagosomes. In parallel, THP-1 cells will be
treated with LLOMe to induce lysosomal membrane permeabilization and stained with a panel of antibodies
to evaluate their recruitment to damaged lysosomes by immunofluorescence microscopy. We expect these
approaches to establish a robust strategy for tracking phagosomes in macrophages while identifying reliable
microscopy markers of lysosomal membrane damage in THP-1 cells. Together, these tools will provide
a framework for studies of phagosome regulation, endomembrane homeostasis and immune responses in
health and disease.
