ORIGINAL ARTICLES  CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF INFLAMMATION 

Minerva Biotecnologica 2004 June;16(2):75-8

Copyright © 2004 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Receptors for extracellular nucleotides: sensors for danger signals in the immune system

Di Virgilio F. ^{1, 2}, Pizzirani C. ^{1, 2}

¹ Section of General Pathology, Department of Experimental and Diagnostic Medicine, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; ² Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Inflammation, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

There is increas­ing aware­ness ­that inflam­ma­tion is start­ed by the ­release of endog­e­nous fac­tors ­that sig­nal the pres­ence of patho­gens or tis­sue dam­age. Such fac­tors are ­thought to orig­i­nate ­from ­stressed ­host ­cells. If ­this is so, ­then ­immune ­cells ­must ­express plas­ma mem­brane recep­tors ­devised to ­sense dan­ger. Recent ­results ­have led to the iden­tifi­ca­tion of ­some of ­these recep­tors and ­their ­ligands.