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    Science. 2000 Jun 16;288(5473):2051-4.

    Role of CD47 as a marker of self on red blood cells.

    Source

    Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Campus Box 8051, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.

    Abstract

    The immune system recognizes invaders as foreign because they express determinants that are absent on host cells or because they lack "markers of self" that are normally present. Here we show that CD47 (integrin-associated protein) functions as a marker of self on murine red blood cells. Red blood cells that lacked CD47 were rapidly cleared from the bloodstream by splenic red pulp macrophages. CD47 on normal red blood cells prevented this elimination by binding to the inhibitory receptor signal regulatory protein alpha (SIRPalpha). Thus, macrophages may use a number of nonspecific activating receptors and rely on the presence or absence of CD47 to distinguish self from foreign. CD47-SIRPalpha may represent a potential pathway for the control of hemolytic anemia.

    PMID:
    10856220
    [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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