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

这个项目涉及被称为巨噬细胞的大型白细胞的基本生物学。巨噬细胞是即时防御感染、伤口修复和组织正常周转所必需的，但它们也能产生导致疾病的有毒产物，特别是在炎症性疾病和癌症中。我们正在研究一种通常只在巨噬细胞中产生，但在许多癌细胞中出现异常的基因。我们的目标是在分子水平上确切地了解基因是如何被控制的，以及它为什么会出现在肿瘤中。

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.