File:Factor D Enzyme.jpg

Factor D Enzyme

The trauma caused by open-heart surgery often triggers massive inflammation because the immune system overreacts. The crystal, at left, of Factor D -- a protein that plays a key role in the biological sequence that activates this immune response -- was grown on Earth by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Data obtained by analyzing a group of crystals grown on Earth is being used to develop Factor D blockers. Factor D blockers, with their great potential to alleviate the complication of inflammation associated with heart surgery, are now being developed for clinical trials. (some positive results were obtained) These new drugs, developed from space research, should be commercially available as soon as year 2001.

Note that visible protein crystals such as this, although essential for crystallography studies, do not occur normally in the human body and are produced only with difficulty in the laboratory.

Source: NASA,NASA

	This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
	Warnings: Use of NASA logos, insignia and emblems is restricted per U.S. law 14 CFR 1221. The NASA website hosts a large number of images from the Soviet/Russian space agency, and other non-American space agencies. These are not necessarily in the public domain. Materials based on Hubble Space Telescope data may be copyrighted if they are not explicitly produced by the STScI.[1] See also {{PD-Hubble}} and {{Cc-Hubble}}. The SOHO (ESA & NASA) joint project implies that all materials created by its probe are copyrighted and require permission for commercial non-educational use. [2] Images featured on the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) web site may be copyrighted. [3] The National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) site has been known to host copyrighted content. Its photo gallery FAQ states that all of the images in the photo gallery are in the public domain "Unless otherwise noted."