Eat the dead
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Correspondence: William Wells wells@biotext.com
Genome Biology 2000, 1:spotlight-20000508-03 doi:10.1186/gb-spotlight-20000508-03
The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at:
| Published: | 8 May 2000 |
© 2000 BioMed Central Ltd
Research news
Apoptosis eliminates the asymmetry of plasma membrane phospholipids and exposes phosphatidylserine on the outside of cells. Fadok et al. report in the May 4 Nature that they have found a phagocyte protein that recognizes the phosphatidylserine (Nature 2000, 405:85-90). Addition of the receptor to lymphocytes allows the cells to engulf apoptotic cells. Engagement of the receptor on macrophages induces the production of anti-inflammatory TGF-b consistent with the absence of inflammation during apoptosis.
References
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Exposure of phosphatidylserine on the surface of apoptotic lymphocytes triggers specific recognition and removal by macrophages.
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