JCI online early table of contents: De...(-mail: shmuel.muall View the PDF of t...),Health

View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/article.php?id=36983

PHYSIOLOGY: Lactoferrin explains why apoptotic cell death isn't inflammatory

Cells can die in a number of different ways, including by a form of programmed cell death known as apoptosis. One important aspect of apoptosis is that it does not trigger inflammation. This is in part because the dead cells are rapidly cleared away by cells known as mononuclear phagocytes, rather than phagocytes that are associated with inflammatory responses. Christopher Gregory and colleagues, at Edinburgh University, United Kingdom, have now identified a molecular mechanism that explains why apoptotic cells are cleared away by mononuclear phagocytes, rather than phagocytes associated with inflammatory responses.

In the study, in vitro analysis indicated that numerous apoptotic human cell lines release a soluble factor known lactoferrin, which has previously been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. Further in vitro analysis revealed that lactoferrin inhibited the migration of phagocytes associated with inflammatory responses but not the migration of mononuclear phagocytes. Similar results were obtained in mice. The authors therefore conclude that lactoferrin has a key role in ensuring that apoptotic cell death is a form of cell death not associated with inflammation through its ability to inhibit the recruitment of phagocytes associated with inflammatory responses.

TITLE: Apoptotic human cells inhibit migration of granulocytes via release of lactoferrin

AUTHOR CONTACT:
Christopher D. Gregory
The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Phone: 44-131-242-9170; Fax: 44-131-242-9171; E-mail: chris.gregory@ed.ac.uk.'/>"/>