Biochemists identify molecular structures which allow the immune system to tell friend from foe

To repel an infection, the body's immune system has to tell the enemy – bacteria or other invaders – from cells of its own body. To achieve this distinction, the immune system utilizes characteristic molecular patterns displayed on the surface of each cell. One of these molecular patterns has now been identified by Dr. Bärbel Blaum and Professor Thilo Stehle of Tübingen's Interfaculty Institute of Biochemistry, working in cooperation with researchers in the UK and in the US state of Colorado. Using techniques of structural biology, the researchers identified the key determinants of a recognition process that relies chiefly on sialic acid, a glycan that is expressed on all human cells.

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