Function
It is thought that scavenger receptors participate in the removal of many foreign substances and waste materials in the living body by extensive ligand specificity and a variety of receptor molecules.
In atherosclerotic lesions, macrophages that express scavenger receptors on their plasma membrane aggressively uptake the oxidized LDL deposited in the blood vessel wall inside and become foam cells, and they secrete various inflammatory cytokines and accelerate the development of atherosclerosis.
Read more about this topic: Scavenger Receptor
Famous quotes containing the word function:
“The function of comedy is to dispel ... unconsciousness by turning the searchlight of the keenest moral and intellectual analysis right on to it.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“The information links are like nerves that pervade and help to animate the human organism. The sensors and monitors are analogous to the human senses that put us in touch with the world. Data bases correspond to memory; the information processors perform the function of human reasoning and comprehension. Once the postmodern infrastructure is reasonably integrated, it will greatly exceed human intelligence in reach, acuity, capacity, and precision.”
—Albert Borgman, U.S. educator, author. Crossing the Postmodern Divide, ch. 4, University of Chicago Press (1992)
“For me being a poet is a job rather than an activity. I feel I have a function in society, neither more nor less meaningful than any other simple job. I feel it is part of my work to make poetry more accessible to people who have had their rights withdrawn from them.”
—Jeni Couzyn (b. 1942)