杏吧原创

ANTIBODIES may be the 鈥渟heepdogs鈥� of our immune systems, gathering viruses,
bacteria and toxins into the spleen and lymph nodes, where the invaders are
destroyed. The 鈥渟heepdog鈥� role has been established by Adrian Ochsenbein of the
University Hospital, Bern, and his colleagues in Switzerland, Germany and South
Africa (Science, vol 286, p 2156). They showed that bacteria and
viruses were herded into the lymph organs in normal mice, but remained dispersed
in mice that had been engineered so they cannot make antibodies. 鈥淭hey take the
stuff away from vital organs and enable the body to mount a defence,鈥� says
Ochsenbein.