Review: Moving towards a Better Understanding of Chemotaxis

kavin submitted, created time 5 months 1 week (www.current-biology.com)

Anybody who has watched the now famous movie, made by the late David Rogers in the 1950s, of a neutrophil "chasing" its bacterial prey amongst red blood cells cannot fail to have been impressed by the ruthless efficiency of the predator despite its apparent "senseless" simplicity. It is argued that the hunt was underpinned by the ability of the neutrophil to chemotax up gradients of formylated peptides released by the bacteria

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: centripetal pulling de-adhesion chemotaxis neutrophils adhesion-associated stabilisation polarization

ETosis: A Novel Cell Death Pathway

jerry submitted, created time 5 months 4 weeks (stke.sciencemag.org)

The formation of extracellular traps (ETs) by neutrophils and mast cells is an important mechanism in the innate immune response. These structures consist of a chromatin-DNA backbone with attached antimicrobial peptides and enzymes that trap and kill microbes. After stimulation of neutrophils and mast cells with phorbol esters, chemoattractant peptides, or chemokines, the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydrogen peroxide, by NAPDH oxidase initiates a signaling cascade that leads to the disintegration of the nuclear and cellular membranes and the formation of ETs

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: leukocytes necrosis neutrophils apoptosis ETosis Cell death

Apoptosis: Killing neutrophils the cathepsin way

davidd submitted, created time 7 months 4 days (www.signaling-gateway.org)

Cathepsin D directly cleaves and activates caspase-8 at the beginning of a pro-apoptotic pathway in neutrophils, showing how apoptosis can be activated in the absence of death-receptor ligation.

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: cell biology cell signaling neutrophils cell death cathepsin D caspase-8 apoptosis

Research May Lead To Better Drugs To Fight Deadly Pathogens

cappuccion submitted, created time 1 year 4 months (www.medicalnewstoday.com)

Biology textbooks suggest that blunt-neutrophils are mindless killers. These white blood cells patrol the body and guard against infection by bacteria and fungi, identifying and destroying any invaders that cross their path. But new evidence, which may lead to better drugs to fight deadly pathogens, indicates that neutrophils might actually distinguish among their targets.

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A new method for distinction between bacterial and viral infections

nujatiju submitted, created time 1 year 4 months (www.sciencedirect.com)

This landmark study describes a novel marker of local and systemic bacterial infections designated “clinical infection score (CIS) point”, which incorporates quantitative analysis of CR1 and CR3 on neutrophils and standard clinical laboratory data, CRP and ESR. CIS point varied between 0 and 8, and displayed 98% sensitivity and 97% specificity in distinguishing between bacterial and viral infections. It is well proved that the diagnostic yield of individual infection markers in distinguishing between bacterial and viral infections increases upon combination.

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: Infectious diseases Differential diagnosis Neutrophils Complement receptors CR1(CD35) and CR3(C Bacterial infections Viral infections CRP ESR

Neutrophils efficiently cross-prime naive T cells in vivo

addict submitted, created time 1 year 5 months (bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org)

Neutrophils are professional phagocytes that migrate early, in high number, to the infection sites. Our study has analyzed how neutrophils cross-present antigens and influence CD8+ T-cell responses. By using highly purified neutrophils from peritoneal exudates and bone marrow, we have shown that neutrophils cross-present ovalbumin to a CD8+ T-cell hybridoma and to naive CD8+ T-cells from OT1 transgenic mice

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