The body has a veritable army constantly on guard to keep us safe from microscopic threats from infections to cancer.
University of California - Santa BarbaraAug 12 2024 Chief among this force is the macrophage, a white blood cell that surveils tissues and consumes pathogens, debris, dead cells, and cancer. Macrophages have a delicate task. It's crucial that they ignore healthy cells while on patrol, otherwise they could trigger an autoimmune response while performing their duties.
Using light to control the cellular appetite While monitoring the body, macrophages scout for cells and debris tagged with the antibody IgG by other immune cells. These function as "eat me" signals to the macrophages, which detect them via Fc receptors embedded in their cell membrane. Fc receptors are mobile, and begin to cluster once activated by IgG. Once this reaches a certain threshold, the macrophage engulfs the target.
Pavlov's macrophages Bond stimulated engineered macrophages with light, then made the cells wait for different periods of time. She then presented them with the mock cancer cells, this time displaying that IgG "eat me" antibody. Related StoriesIndeed, the macrophages retained their short-term priming when Bond blocked protein synthesis, suggesting that something else controlled this response. However, disabling protein synthesis eliminated the cells' long-term enhanced appetite, indicating that this behavior relies on changes to gene expression and protein synthesis.
Hungry macrophages eat more cancer Macrophages find antibodies like IgG irresistible; they'll eat pretty much anything tagged with them, even the glass beads Bond used in her experiments. As a result, monoclonal antibodies have become a popular treatment for various diseases. In fact, antibodies are currently used in many different cancer therapies. Bond was able to increase the efficacy of a common antibody that is used to treat lymphoma.
A memory spectrum For a long time, biologists and doctors thought only the adaptive branch of the immune system had any sort of immunological memory. But a more nuanced picture has begun to emerge.
Antibodies Antibody Autoimmunity Blood Cell Cell Membrane Developmental Biology Immune System Immunity Macrophage Membrane Protein Protein Synthesis Receptor White Blood Cell
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