This video is under embargo. Please login to access this video.
Caption
Much like birds fly in flocks to conserve energy, dolphins swim in pods to mate and find food, and colonies of ants create complex nests to protect their queens, immune cells engage in coordinated behavior to wipe out viruses like the flu. A new study in the journal Science reveals, for the first time, how immune cells work together to get to their final destination -- the site of an injury or infection.
The body is expansive and a virus or bacteria can take hold in any number of locations: the lungs, the throat, the stomach or the ear, just to name a few. How do immune cells, specifically the ones that are responsible for killing foreign invaders, know where to go?
Scientists discovered that cells called neutrophils are the key. They arrive at the site of injury within an hour of infection and leave a chemical "trail" of sorts behind them. Killer immune cells called T cells (shown in red) use this trail (shown in green) to find the site of injury and subsequently destroy the invader.
Credit
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Usage Restrictions
Please credit the video to the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry