Small pictures of disease fighting cells may be help treat immune deficiency disorders. Jordan Orange of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and colleagues used a superpowerful new microscope to watch how immune cells called natural killer cells feed a poison pill called a lytic granule to tumors or virus-infected cells. Scientists used to think a big hole in the middle of a dense mesh of spaghetti-like molecules called F-actin let granules stream out of the natural killer cell. A new study, shows that the meshwork parts just enough to let single lytic granules pass, with F-actin helping squeeze the granule through. People with immune deficiency disorders may have defects that prevent lytic granules from exiting the natural killer cell.
Hum, interesting. I like how you said "a dense mesh of spaguetti-like molecules"!
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