To learn what role TRPV2 might play in fighting infection, Tiffany Link, a graduate student in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, harvested macrophages from the bellies of two sets of mice: a "wild type" control group, and a group that had been genetically engineered to lack TRPV2. She grew the normal immune cells and the engineered mutant cells in separate dishes, and then added latex beads that were coated with antibody molecules. The normal immune cells efficiently gobbled the beads, while the mutant cells lacking TRPV2 couldn’t ingest nearly as well, indicating that TRPV2 was important in proper functioning of macrophages. Credit: JHU