Published on 10 Jul 2014
Isolated blood neutrophils are perfused over a histamine activated endothelial monolayer. The neutrophils are shown to first roll and then firmly adhere to the endothelium. This process occurs because histamine causes the endothelium to express the adhesion molecule P- selectin on its surface.
P-selectin on the endothelium then interacts with the neutrophil counter receptor P-selectin ligand which is always expressed on the neutrophil suface. The close interaction then allows other adhesion molecules such as ICAM-1 to cause the neutrophils to adhere more firmly and stop rolling. The process is then followed by the movement of the neutrophils out of the blood and into the tissue called transmigration. The neutrophils can clear infection from the tissue but can also cause unwanted damage. Neutrophils are important inate immune cells which are important in psoriasis
