White Blood Cells Are Picky About Sugar, Whitehead Institute Study
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (July 11, 2007) — Biology textbooks are blunt—neutrophils are mindless killers. These white blood cells patrol the body and guard against infection by bacteria and fungi, identifying and destroying any invaders that cross their path. But new evidence, which may lead to better drugs to fight deadly pathogens, indicates that neutrophils might actually distinguish among their targets.