LONDON: Scientists have always believed that the process white blood cells undergo when they break down is random. However, a team from the La Trobe Institute of Molecular Science discovered that there is a certain order to the process, after the researchers captured the moment a white blood cell died as proof.
According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications, white blood cells eject certain molecules when they die, which then form long beaded strings of material. This material then breaks off, distributed throughout the body to contribute to defense and immunity.
Dr. Ivan Poon, one of the study’s lead researchers, explained that white blood cells are central to the immune system of the body. The mechanism they observed was likened to pilots being ejected out of fighter jets when their airplane has been downed, with the molecules pushed out representing the pilots. Components that are left behind go down with the wreckage of white blood cell fragments.
The researchers called the mechanism “beaded apoptopodia,” adding that proteins are implicated in the beaded strings, which can go up to eight times longer compared to the host cell they came from. The proteins affect growth and maintenance in cells as well as signal transfer.
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