Scientists discover how protein trips up germs
If bad bacteria lurk in your system, chances are they will bump into the immune system’s protective cells whose job is gobbling germs. The catch is that these do-gooders, known as macrophages, ingest and destroy only those infectious invaders that they can securely hook and reel in. Now, scientists have shown that a healthy immune response depends on a protein called TRPV2 which, they discovered, is the means by which macrophages capitalize on brief and accidental encounters with nasty bugs.
