M6P Deficiency Leaves B Cells Out Of Sorts
Sunday, January 25, 2015 - 17:10
in Biology & Nature
A group of white blood cells known as B cells play a key role in the human immune response but need a protein-targeting signal called mannose 6-phosphate (M6P) in order to proliferate, differentiate, and present immune cell-activating antigens, according to a study in The Journal of Cell Biology. Immune cells slice up antigens in organelles called lysosomes and attach the fragments to complexes that display them on the cell surface in order for these peptides to bind and activate other immune cells. To ensure that they can cut up the antigens, cells steer newly made enzymes to lysosomes by tagging them with M6P molecules. read more