Advance of the studies on the adhesion molecules of blood cells / 中国实验血液学杂志

ABSTRACT

The interactions between blood cells and blood cells or blood cells and endothelium of blood vessel are mainly mediated by adhesion molecules. The role of adhesion molecules is diverse in vivo, which involved in adhesion, migration, differentiation and signal transduction of blood cells. The function of adhesion molecules is necessary to maintain the normal structure and fulfill many physiological processes of these cells. Therefore, the abnormal or deficiency of their expression and function will disrupts normal physiological processes and results in clinical disease. In this paper, several generic classes of adhesion molecules, including the integrins, the selectins, the immunoglobulin superfamily and others are introduced, and a lot of related physiopathological status, such as inflammation, hemostasis, arteriosclerosis, thrombosis and stem cell homing are discussed. The studies on the adhesion molecules of blood cells will contribute not only to understand the pathogenesis of some disorders, but also to search new targets in diagnosis and treatment of these diseases.