Categories: Site glossary
don't eat me signals
Examples of technical terms that may be perceived by a novice or non-specialist as a metaphor:
"Eat-me signals are molecules exposed on the surface of a cell to induce phagocytes to phagocytose (eat) that cell. Currently known eat-me signals include: phosphatidylserine, oxidized phospholipids, sugar residues (such as galactose), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), calreticulin, annexin A1, histones and pentraxin-3 (PTX3)"
Wikipedia entry 'Eat me signals'
"CD47 is a potent 'do not eat me' signal that enables cancer cells to evade detection by the innate immune system, thereby avoiding destruction by first responder cells, such as macrophages."
Takimoto, C.H., Chao, M. P., Gibbs , C., McCamish, M. A., Liu, J., Chen, J. Y., Majeti, R. & Weissman , I. L. (2019) Annals of Oncology, Volume 30, Issue 3, 486 – 489
