When a virus attacks our organism, an inflammation appears on the affected area which triggers off the process of immune defence within our body. White blood cells (such as neutrophils and inflammatory monocytes) move quickly to the inflamed area. Up until now, it was proved that neutrophils were the first defenders to arrive but today, researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, discovered that their recruitment onsite depend on a group of patrolling monocytes, referred to as "residents", and also on a protein called CCN1, produced by the platelets and by the endothelium (the blood vessel). Without the latter, the defenders are not recruited to fight off the virus. This discovery, which can be read in the scientific journal PNAS, opens the path to new possible theories regarding antiviral treatments.
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