Categories: Comparisons
An example of the use of a technical term (don't eat me signal) that may appear to a novice or non-specialist as a figure of speech,
"What is clear is that red cells contain, in their early phases of circulating life, abundant supplies of the membrane protein CD47. CD47 is known to be a "don't eat me" signal by virtue of its interaction with a macrophage protein SHPS-1. CD47 levels decline on the surface of the red cell as it ages, making macrophages more likely to recognise and ingest red cells bearing any of these antigen-antibody complexes."
Benz, Edward J. (2018) Anemias, red cells, and the essential elements of red cell homeostasis, in Edward J. Benz, Nancy Berliner, & Fred J. Schiffman, Anemia. Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Management, Cambridge University Press, 1-13.
