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Phagocytosis (from Ancient Greek φαγεῖν (phagein) 'to eat' and κύτος (kytos) 'cell') is the process by which a cell uses its plasma membrane to engulf a large particle (≥ 0.5 μm), giving rise to an internal compartment called the phagosome. It is one type of endocytosis. A cell that performs phagocytosis is called a phagocyte.
Due to their role in phagocytosis, macrophages are involved in many diseases of the immune system. For example, they participate in the formation of granulomas, inflammatory lesions that may be caused by a large number of diseases. Some disorders, mostly rare, of ineffective phagocytosis and macrophage function have been described, for example ...
The mononuclear phagocyte system and the monocyte macrophage system refer to two different entities, often mistakenly understood as one. [citation needed] "Reticuloendothelial system" is an older term for the mononuclear phagocyte system, but it is used less commonly now, as it is understood that most endothelial cells are not macrophages. [2]
A macrophage's location can determine its size and appearance. Macrophages cause inflammation through the production of interleukin-1, interleukin-6, and TNF-alpha. [75] Macrophages are usually only found in tissue and are rarely seen in blood circulation. The life-span of tissue macrophages has been estimated to range from four to fifteen days ...
Phagocytosis of a bacterium, showing the formation of phagosome and phagolysosome In cell biology , a phagosome is a vesicle formed around a particle engulfed by a phagocyte via phagocytosis . Professional phagocytes include macrophages , neutrophils , and dendritic cells (DCs).
In detail, a phagocyte's duty is obtaining food particles and digesting it in a vacuole. [2] For example, following phagocytosis, the ingested particle (or phagosome) fuses with a lysosome containing hydrolytic enzymes to form a phagolysosome; the pathogens or food particles within the phagosome are then digested by the lysosome's enzymes.
Macrophages are produced through the differentiation of monocytes, and after ingestion of bacteria, secrete enzymes to destroy the ingested particle. These cells reside in every tissue of the body, and upon infected tissue, are recruited to the tissue. Once recruited, macrophages will differentiate into specific tissue macrophages.
Scheme of the complement system. The complement system, also known as complement cascade, is a part of the humoral, innate immune system and enhances (complements) the ability of antibodies and phagocytic cells to clear microbes and damaged cells from an organism, promote inflammation, and attack the pathogen's cell membrane. [1]