Volume 9 Issue 3, September 1999: 171-178
REVIEWS
The αMβ2 integrin and its role in neutrophil function
ZHANG Li
Department of Vascular Biology, American Red Cross, Holland Laboratory, 15601 Crabbs Branch Way, Rockville, MD 20855 USA
Correspondence: (zhangl@usa.redcross.org)
Neutrophils
are the first cell type to arrive at the injury sites and play a critical role
in host defense, by virtue of its ability to adhere and transmigrate through
endothelium, to phagocytose foreign pathogens, and to produce free oxygen
radicals and proteolytic enzymes. Yet, inappropriate neutrophil activation
causes tissue damage and various inflammatory diseases. These physiological and
pathological functions of neutrophils depend on the engagement of certain
surface receptors, especially
aMb2,
the major
b2 integrin receptor present on
neutrophil surface. Understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying ligand
binding by
aMb2,
as well as the roles of
aMb2-ligand
interactions in neutrophil functions will enable us to regulate more precisely
neutrophil activities: that is, to promote their host defense functions, and at
the same time to minimize their deleterious effects on normal cells.
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