Death of white blood cell captured on video

Sydney Morning Herald : White blood cells experience apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in three stages: They bulge, explode, and break apart, according to Georgia Atkin-Smith of La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and her colleagues, whose paper appears in Nature Communications. The researchers used time-lapse microscopy to create high-speed video of the phenomenon. They observed that as a cell begins to die, it forms “beads” of material that push on the cell wall until they escape as one long string resembling a beaded necklace. Once outside the cell, the necklace breaks apart into individual beads, which are then absorbed by the surrounding cells. The researchers believe that the pieces that get swallowed by other white blood cells may carry information alerting them to the potential threat of a pathogen. By better understanding the body’s own defense mechanisms, doctors may be able to take advantage of its healing abilities to devise improved treatments for various diseases.