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A stepwise retreat: How immune cells catch pathogens

07-11-2007 · EurekAlert!

To protect us from disease our immune system employs macrophages, cells that roam our body in search of disease-causing bacteria. With the help of long tentacle-like protrusions, macrophages can catch suspicious particles, pull them towards their cell bodies, internalize and destroy them. Using a special microscopy technique, researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory now for the first time tracked the dynamic behavior of these tentacles in three dimensions.

Keywords: stepwise, retreat, immune, cells, catch, pathogens, cell, pathogen

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