Antibodies and white blood cells usually take the stage when the talks are about bacterial invasions inside the body. However, they are not the only players that help in combating bacteria. John MacMicking, an immunologist, says that “all cells are endowed with some ability to combat infection.” This cell in particular has an interesting ability: it produces soap-like substance that helps dissolve bacteria.
In humans, these run-of-the-mill cellular defenses have often been overlooked, MacMicking says, even though they are part of “an ancient and primordial defense system” and could inform the development of treatments for new infections.
Often, nonimmune cells rely on a warning from their professional counterparts to combat infections. Upon detecting outsiders, specialized immune cells release an alarm signal called interferon gamma. That signal rouses other cells, including epithelial cells that line the throat and intestines and are often targeted by pathogens, to action.
More about this over at Science News.
(Image Credit: NIAID/ Wikimedia Commons)