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Body Reveals Its Inflammation 'Off Switch'
New Scientist ^ | 10-1-2006 | Deb McKenzie

Posted on 10/01/2006 6:32:34 PM PDT by blam

Body reveals its inflammation 'off switch'

18:00 01 October 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Deb MacKenzie

Researchers have shed light on how the body switches off its immune response, a key step towards understanding autoimmune diseases and controlling inflammation.

When immune cells die, they transform into “sponges” that soak up the molecules responsible for causing inflammation, researchers have discovered. The new information may lead to better drugs to treat inflammatory disorders, such as eczema.

Inflammation is characterised by a red, painful swelling around a wound caused by blood fluids, proteins and immune cells flooding into an area of the body in response to germs or damage. Its biological purpose is to allow immune cells to get from the blood to the trouble spot to fight infection.

But too much inflammation can be devastating. It is what causes death in diseases such as flu, while chronic, misdirected inflammation causes conditions from eczema to arthritis. As a result, researchers have been looking for ways to "turn-off" the inflammatory response.

Ultimate scavengers

Now, Charles Serhan and colleagues at Harvard University in Boston, US, have discovered an important natural braking mechanism. In a healthy inflammatory response, immune cells called leukocytes are attracted to the site of injury, where they are activated by molecules called chemokines. The leukocytes emit powerful germ-killing chemicals, and then commit suicide.

The researchers discovered that dying leukocytes act like sponges, soaking up chemokines, preventing them from attracting more leukocytes. It is the body’s way of controlling inflammation – a good thing, since too much of their germ-killing chemicals can damage healthy surrounding tissue.

(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: arthritis; autoimmunedisease; body; ccr5; inflamation; inflammation; lupus; off; osteoarthritis; reveals; switch
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Google esters and sterols for direction.


21 posted on 10/02/2006 8:06:06 AM PDT by Old Professer (The critic writes with rapier pen, dips it twice, and writes again.)
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To: blam; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Smokin' Joe; All
Gene fights off HIV

CCR5 is a receptor that HIV uses to infect cells.

22 posted on 10/02/2006 1:45:44 PM PDT by neverdem (May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows that you're dead.)
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To: blam

I was searching for another article on CCR5 for HIV/AIDS. Thanks for saving it as a keyword.


23 posted on 07/25/2007 8:56:07 PM PDT by neverdem (Call talk radio. We need a Constitutional Amendment for Congressional term limits. Let's Roll!)
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To: blam
Osteoarthritis Linked To Premature Ageing

Neat find!

24 posted on 07/26/2007 4:42:11 AM PDT by syriacus (If the US troops had remained in S. Korea in 1949, there would have been no Korean War (1950-53).)
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