RESEARCH - Possible inflammation master switch found

[Guest guest]

Protein Master Switch Key In Promoting Or Inhibiting Inflammation

MedicalNewsToday.com

Article Date: 17 Jan 2011 - 14:00 PST

A master switch protein found in some white blood cells is key in

suppressing or promoting inflammation, researchers from Imperial

College, London, wrote in the journal Nature Immunology. They added

that their findings could eventually lead to new therapies for

rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic autoimmune diseases.

When there is tissue damage or an infection, the body has a protective

inflammatory response. However, in some cases there is so much

inflammation that it can be harmful. In rheumatoid arthritis for

example, the joints swell up and become extremely painful. Scientists

have been uncertain why this occurs.

Macrophages, types of white blood cells that gobble up foreign

materials, are key players in the immune response to foreign invaders,

such as infectious microorganisms. Macrophages release chemical

signals that can alter the behavior of other cells, triggering

inflammation or suppressing it.

****************************************************************

Read the full article here:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/213934.php

Not an MD