Fighting Flames

Our bodies must respond swiftly to infection, calling upon fleets of immune cells that migrate towards a pathogen. Yet as the immune defenders pile in, the surrounding tissue swells with inflammation that's both necessary and potential harmful. To keep inflammation in check, researchers find our bodies produce a balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory cells. Pictured with a high-powered microscope inside this mouse’s thigh bone (highlighted in turquoise with its cell nuclei in blue), we see the likely route that progenitor cells – destined to become anti-inflammatory cells – take as they leave the bone marrow. Guided by a series of chemical signals triggered by the raging immune battle, the cells migrate through a network of lymphatic vessels (red) towards the site of infection where they calm the inflammation. Exploring these chemical changes may one day help to prevent over-zealous immune responses, avoiding conditions like sepsis.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Juana Serrano-Lopez and Shailaja Hegde, and colleagues
• Divisions of Experimental Hematology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in eLife, April 2021