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Updated: May 27, 2026

Flow Cytometric Analysis of Apoptotic Biomarkers in Actinomycin D-Treated SiHa Cervical Cancer Cells
Published on: August 26, 2021
Ficolin-B marks apoptotic and necrotic cells
Maximilian Schmid1, Katja Hunold, Dorothea Weber-Steffens
1Institute of Immunology, University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauss-Allee 11, 93042 Regensburg, Germany.
Abstract:
Ficolins are a group of proteins consisting of a fibrinogen-like and a collagen-like domain. They play a role in innate immunity by activating the complement system via the lectin pathway upon binding to carbohydrate patterns on pathogens. Two types of ficolins have been identified in mice, ficolin A and ficolin B (FcnB). We show in this article that recombinant FcnB binds to late apoptotic cells and to apoptotic bodies as well as to necrotic cells but not to early apoptotic cells. This binding was calcium-dependent and could be competitively inhibited by acetylated BSA, a classical binding substrate of FcnB. In addition, DNA inhibited binding of FcnB to apoptotic and necrotic cells, indicating that DNA exposed by dying cells could also be a ligand for FcnB. Thus, FcnB may play a role in the removal of damaged host cells and maintenance of tissue homeostasis.
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