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Intercellular transfer of cell-surface proteins is common and can affect many stages of an immune response

Daniel M Davis1

  • 1Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK. d.davis@imperial.ac.uk

Nature Reviews. Immunology
|February 10, 2007
PubMed

Cells can extend the limits of their transcriptome by using proteins captured from other cells. Through an exchange of specific proteins, tools and information can be shared to establish integrated communities of cells that are better able to coordinate stages of an immune response. Transferred proteins can also contribute to pathology by allowing, for example, infection of cell types not otherwise infected. Here, I present the case for considering the intercellular transfer of cell-surface proteins between immune cells as commonplace and important.

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