The first line of defense in our immune systems are white blood cells, 40% to 70% of which are neutrophils. These cells rush to sites of injury or infection, producing proteins to promote inflammation and attack invading microbes. At the time of response, the proteins are decorated with carbohydrate molecules—called glycoproteins—yet scientists do not know when or how these complex molecules appear.
Now, however, an international research team may be a step closer to understanding when and how neutrophils arm their microbe-killing proteins. The finding, the researchers said, may have implications for refining personalized immune responses.
Neutrophils circulate in the blood in a resting state, with what researchers call an"arsenal of prepackaged cytosolic granules," which are subcellular compartments adorned with anti-microbial glycoproteins. These subcellular compartments are mobilized under specific environmental cues, allowing the neutrophils to move to where they are needed and react as needed for that specific threat.
According to researchers, their analysis indicated that a well-timed and coordinated expression of a specific type of glycoprotein early in the neutrophil's maturation was responsible for their restricted subcellular origin. The specific glycoprotein expression was coordinated with the initial development of the organelle that deploys a microbicidal response.
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