Changes in DNA packaging help immune cells swell and burst

AI Summary

Researchers describe how changes in DNA packaging allow certain immune cells to swell and burst during NETosis. The process releases DNA that can trap pathogens.

Immune cells are the elite athletes of the human body. While other cells stay in place, immune cells travel throughout our bodies, squeezing through small channels, stretching themselves, sampling the surfaces of other cells and swallowing up invaders. One of their most extreme behaviors is NETosis, a process in which certain immune cells burst and release their DNA as a way to trap pathogens.