Leucocyte & Endthelial Cell Biology

免疫系统的步兵，即白细胞，不断地在体内行进，寻找入侵者，但受到血管内皮细胞屏障的控制。当感染发生时，分子信息在白细胞之间以及白细胞和内皮之间传递，以激活免疫细胞，使其通过血管并建立防御。不幸的是，激活系统有时会出错，导致炎症或过敏性疾病，如关节炎或哮喘。这个来自阿德莱德汉森研究所的研究团队结合了分子和细胞生物学、蛋白质化学、结构生物学和动物模型方面的专业知识，已经合作了10多年，研究参与控制血管和白细胞形成和活动的分子机制。这项计划旨在加深这种理解，并开发有可能改善炎症状况的药物。

The foot soldiers of the immune system, the white blood cells, constantly march through the body seeking out invaders, but kept in check by the barrier of endothelial cells that lines the inside of blood vessels. When infection occurs, molecular messages are transmitted amongst the white cells and between white cells and edothelium, to activate the immune cells to pass out of the blood vessels and mount a defence. Unfortunatley, the activation system sometimes goes awry, resulting in inflammatory or allergic disease, such as arthritis or asthma. This team of researchers from the Hanson Institute in Adelaide, combining expertise in molecular and cell biology, protein chemestry, structual biology and animal models, has been working together for over 10 years, investigating the molecular mechanisms involved in controlling the formation and activities of blood vessels and white blood cells. This program seeks to further that understanding, and to develop drugs that have the potential of ameliorating the inflammatory condition.