Endothelial cell biology and the initiation of inflammation

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"One of the most visible signs of inflammation is the formation of pus. This is the accumulation of white blood cells at sites of injury, where they act to repair damage. To grab the white cells out of the mix of cells in rapidly flowing blood, the cells lining the blood vessels change so that instead of providing a smooth surface which promotes the flow of blood and prevents the formation of clots, they become selectively sticky. This selective stickiness comes from a special set of molecules that the lining endothelial cells express on their surface. The bound white cells accumulate on the surface of the endothelium, and then pass out between the endothelial cells into the tissue where they act. The endothelial cells ability to expose and then retrieve the sticky molecules, the selectins, in a regulated fashion, thus plays a big role in controlling the initiation of inflammation. The team of about half a dozen scientists at the CBU plus collaborators in the UK and abroad are trying to understand the molecular machinery that underpins this process. We study the problem in human cells taken from the lining of umbilical veins which we can grow in the laboratory. By understanding the machinery that controls this process, we hope to learn how to manipulate it so as to gain better control over inflammatory disease."