Phagocytic cell

Dead or live bacteria may be effective to stimulate inflammatory reactions of phagocytic cells against tumor cells. The best-characterized treatment is the use of Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) in the case of bladder cancer where activation of the immune response is capable of controlling tumor growth. 

Inflammation occurs when a living tissue is injured or infected by microorganisms. It is a beneficial, self-limited response that requires phagocytic cells and elements of circulating plasma to enter the affected area. In principle it may achieve resolution and repair as the ideal outcome of inflammation. The persistent accumulation and activation of leukocytes is a hallmark of chronic inflammation. 

The migration of phagocytic cells to the site of damage is one of the most fundamental components of the acute inflammatory response, and the key players in this process will be presented next. 

The very early peak of neutrophil invasion into an inflamed area is followed several hours later by a wave of a second class of phagocytic cells, the macrophages. This biphasic pattern of inflammatory cell movement and accumulation is observed in most acute inflammatory responses. The mononuclear phagocyte in the blood is known as the monocyte and differentiates... 

The neuromuscular complications of diabetes mellitus are most often neuropathic in origin, with distal sensorimotor polyneuropathies being the most common. In addition, ischemic infarction of skeletal muscle may occur due to occlusive vascular disease, with small and medium-sized arterioles particularly affected. This occurs in poorly-controlled diabetes and affects thigh, muscles in most cases. In acute stages, muscle biopsy findings are those of widespread muscle necrosis, edema, and phagocytic cell infiltration. Muscle regeneration may be incomplete and increased fibrous connective tissue may replace lost muscle tissue. 

Watanuki, H., Yamaguchi, T., and Sakai, M. (2002). Suppression in function of phagocytic cells in common carp Cyprinus carpio L. injected with estradiol, progesterone or 11-ketotestosterone. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology C—Toxicology and Pharmacology 132, 407 13. 

These proteins are called acute phase proteins (or reactants) and include C-reactive protein (CRP, so-named because it reacts with the C polysaccharide of pneumococci), ai-antitrypsin, haptoglobin, aj-acid glycoprotein, and fibrinogen. The elevations of the levels of these proteins vary from as little as 50% to as much as 1000-fold in the case of CRP. Their levels are also usually elevated during chronic inflammatory states and in patients with cancer. These proteins are believed to play a role in the body s response to inflammation. For example, C-reactive protein can stimulate the classic complement pathway, and ai-antitrypsin can neutralize certain proteases released during the acute inflammatory state. CRP is used as a marker of tissue injury, infection, and inflammation, and there is considerable interest in its use as a predictor of certain types of cardiovascular conditions secondary to atherosclerosis. Interleukin-1 (IL-1), a polypeptide released from mononuclear phagocytic cells, is the principal—but not the sole—stimulator of the synthesis of the majority of acute phase reactants by hepatocytes. Additional molecules such as IL-6 are involved, and they as well as IL-1 appear to work at the level of gene transcription. 

Neutrophils are motile phagocytic cells that play a key role in acute inflammation. When bacteria enter tissues, a number of phenomena result that are collectively... 

The Respiratory Burst of Phagocytic Cells Involves NADPH Oxidase Helps Kill Bacteria... 

NADPH oxidase is inactive in resting phagocytic cells and is activated upon contact with various ligands (complement fragment C5a, chemotactic peptides, etc)... 

Roxithromycin has similar in vitro activity to erythromycin but enters leucocytes and macrophages more rapidly with higher concentrations in the lysosomal component of the phagocytic cells. It is likely to become an important drug against Legionella pneumophila. Clarithromycin is also of potential value. 

In some infections the pathogenic organisms are located intracellularly within phagocytic cells and, therefore, remain relatively protected from drugs which penetrate cells poorly, such as the penicillins and cephalosporins. In contrast, erythromycin, rifampicin and chloramphenicol readily penetrate phagocytic cells. Legionnaires disease is an example of an intracellular infection and is treated with rifampicin and/or erythromycin. 

Metchnikoff (1883) recognized the role of cell types (phagocytes) which were responsible for the engulfinent and digestion of microorganisms. They are a major line of defence against microbes that breach the initial barriers described above. Two types of phagocytic cells are found in the blood, both of which are derived from the totipotent bone marrow stem cell. 

It has the ability to cross the placenta and therefore provides a major line of defence against infection for the newborn. This can be reinforced by transfer ofcolostral IgG across the gut mucosa of the neonate. It diffuses readily into the extravascular spaces where it can act in the neutralization of bacterial toxins and can bind to microorganisms enhancing the process of phagocytosis (opsonization). This is due to the presence on the phagocytic cell surface of a receptor for Fc. 

The mature vitreous contains a class of mononuclear phagocytic cells called hyalocytes (Balzas and Delinger, 1984). These cells are generally embedded in the vitreous humour 20-50 /tM away from the basal lamina, forming a single layer of scattered cells. In the developing eye they are located more centrally and are capable of synthesizing the main solid constituents of the vitreous gel. 

---