Sticky Cell series Article One:
Sticky Cells and Inflammation

Sticky cells are white blood cells (wbc’s) which become activated and deployed to a part of our body where healing is needed. Wbc’s are activated to respond to invasive agents, harmful stimuli or damaged body tissue. In other words, our inbuilt mode of crisis management is largely run by our white blood cells. They are our armed forces. They protect, defend and restore order in our bodies. Our immune system relies on our wbc’s to function; we can’t live without them!

When activated, the wbc’s become “stickier” which allows them to overcome the invasive or damaged tissue by engulfing and eliminating it. This causes inflammation, which we’ve all learnt is bad news. However, inflammation is also part and parcel of healing; it only becomes bad news when it goes unchecked or the wbc’s programming gets messed up.

In a healthy person, wbc’s circulate throughout the body by way of our blood; they perform their specialised function, so that infections are contained and homeostasis or order is maintained.

However, in a person who has inflammatory conditions or autoimmune disease, the wbc’s programming has been muddled and they become stickier and inflamed around healthy and also unhealthy tissue, there’s no discernment. Their assault is what causes disease in our bodies. In other words it’s not so much the infection or disruption that harms us, but more our own wbc’s gone crazy!

There are ways in which we can monitor them; keep a little eye on how they’re doing; build a profile and traffic-watch them over time.

For now, it just helps us to know that cell ‘stickiness’ is an indicator of how our immune system is performing. If our wbc’s are stickier than normal, it means our body is not normal and if they remain too sticky it means there’s a high chance we’re on a path to an inflammatory condition and/or auto-immune disease.

Just saying… it’s good to know this stuff! No one ever mentioned sticky cells to us before, right? They’re a precursor to illness, so super-important.

Read more in article two: https://stickycell.com.au/sticky-cells-and-leukocyte-recruitment-the-relationship-and-why-it-matters/

Key points:

1. Our immune system protects and heals us
2. White blood cells make up our immune system
3. White blood cells have the potential to become sticky
4. Sticky cells = inflammation
5. If inflammation goes unchecked, this is a problem
6. There are triggers which cause white blood cells to become sticky

There are ways to measure, monitor and track white blood cell performance and ‘stickyness’; this is what we do @ StickyCell Pty Ltd.