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Nature 451, 530-531 (31 January 2008) | doi:10.1038/451530a; Published online 30 January 2008

Open Innovation Challenges

naturejobs

  • Professor

    • University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation
    • Cincinnati, OH
  • Academic Neuropathologist

    • University Hospitals Case Medical Center
    • Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Cell biology: Dying to hold you

Kimon Doukoumetzidis1 & Michael O. Hengartner1

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Certain cells bind so tightly to each other that, on occasion, one cell ends up inside another, usually with fatal consequences for the ingested cell. This involuntary cell death might help protect us from cancer.

The epithelial cells that cover most of the surfaces of our bodies create tight physical barriers that protect us from the outside world. To do this effectively, these cells need to stick to each other very well — which they do, thanks to molecular Velcro proteins known as cadherins.

  1. Kimon Doukoumetzidis and Michael O. Hengartner are at the Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
    Email: michael.hengartner@molbio.uzh.ch

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