Transcriptional regulation of the c-fms (CSF-1R) gene in macrophages.

该项目涉及被称为巨噬细胞的大型白血球的基本生物学。巨噬细胞是抵抗感染、伤口修复和组织正常周转的直接防御细胞，但它们也可以产生导致疾病的有毒产物，特别是在炎症性疾病和癌症中。我们正在研究一种基因，这种基因通常只在巨噬细胞中产生，但在许多癌细胞中出现异常。我们的目标是在分子水平上准确地了解基因是如何控制的，以及为什么它会出现在肿瘤中。

This project concerns the basic biology of large white blood cells called macrophages. Macrophages are required for the immediate defence against infection, wound repair and normal turnover of tissues, but they can also produce toxic products that cause illness, especially in inflammatory diseases and cancer. We are studying a gene that is normally only produced in macrophages, but appears abnormally in many cancer cells. Our aim is understand at a molecular level exactly how the gene is controlled, and why it appears in tumours.