Source: University of Pennsylvania
Date: March 10, 2008
Summary:
University of Pennsylvania scientists studying macrophages, the biological cells that spring from white blood cells to eat and destroy foreign or dying cells, have discovered how these “policemen” differentiate between friend and foe. The paper appears as the cover article in the March 10 edition of the Journal of Cell Biology. The knowledge suggests new ways science may be able to turn off rogue macrophages that are the root cause of the many inflammatory diseases ranging from atherosclerosis to arthritis and that provide the mechanism for tissue and organ rejection after transplant. There is also evidence that some types of cancer cells over-express the molecular protein that macrophages recognize as friendly — like a fake ID — which allows the cancer to avoid being perceived as foreign. In addition, the molecules involved in the recognition mechanism appear somewhat variable from person to person, with possible links to success or failure in transplantation of stem cells.
