Fooling the heart into repair

摘要

After a heart attack, a type of immune cell can lessen the damaging inflammatory response in the organ by recognizing cells undergoing apoptosis, or programmed cell death. To mimic this protective effect, Smadar Cohen at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva, Israel, and her group designed a liposome - a lipid-based bubble - with the molecule phosphatidylserine on its surface. This is abundant on apoptotic cells, and prompts the immune systems macrophage cells to secrete anti-inflammatory factors.