Our bodies respond to injury and infection by mobilizing inflammatory cells, which, on reaching an afflicted area, kill microorganisms, eliminate any debris and regulate tissue repair. Neutrophils, which are generated in the bone marrow and circulate through the bloodstream, are the first such cells to arrive on the scene. Armed with potent protein-digesting enzymes and oxidants, neutrophils are consummate microbe killers. But if these cells accumulate and are activated, in an uncontrolled way, they can cause excessive inflammation and injure the very tissues they are designed to protect. So it is important to understand how neutrophils find their way to, and so accumulate at, sites of injury. A breakthrough came recently with a paper published in Cell by Liand colleagues.
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