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Macrophages (/ ˈ m æ k r oʊ f eɪ dʒ /; abbreviated Mφ, MΦ or MP) are a type of white blood cell of the innate immune system that engulf and digest pathogens, such as cancer cells, microbes, cellular debris and foreign substances, which do not have proteins that are specific to healthy body cells on their surface.
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF), formerly known as TNF-α, is a chemical messenger produced by the immune system that induces inflammation. [5] TNF is produced primarily by activated macrophages, and induces inflammation by binding to its receptors on other cells. [6]
The composition of monocyte-derived macrophages and tissue-resident macrophages in the tumor microenvironment depends on the tumor type, stage, size, and location, thus it has been proposed that TAM identity and heterogeneity is the outcome of interactions between tumor-derived, tissue-specific, and developmental signals. [2]
Dendritic cells are named after their structure that resembles that of a dendrite of an axon, and they have two vital functions: display antigens, which are recognized by T cells and alert lymphocytes of the presence of an injury or infection. When the body is introduced to infection or injury, dendritic cells migrate to immune or lymphoid ...
Tumor-associated macrophages are a central component in the strong link between chronic inflammation and cancer, and are recruited to the tumor as a response to cancer-associated inflammation. [51] Their sluggish NF-κB activation allows for the smoldering inflammation seen in cancer. [52] Unlike normal macrophages, tumor-associated macrophages ...
CCL17 is a powerful chemokine produced in the thymus and by antigen-presenting cells like dendritic cells, macrophages, and monocytes. [5] CCL17 plays a complex role in cancer. It attracts T-regulatory cells allowing for some cancers to evade an immune response. [6]
Macrophages are diffusely scattered in the connective tissue and in liver (Kupffer cells), spleen and lymph nodes (sinus histiocytes), lungs (alveolar macrophages), and central nervous system (microglia). The half-life of blood monocytes is about 1 day, whereas the life span of tissue macrophages is several months or years.
Foamy macrophages are also found in diseases caused by pathogens that persist in the body, such as Chlamydia, Toxoplasma, or Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In tuberculosis (TB), bacterial lipids disable macrophages from pumping out excess LDL, causing them to turn into foam cells around the TB granulomas in the lung. The cholesterol forms a rich ...