Phagocytosis and Macrophages

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Phagocytosis and Macrophages

• Phagocytosis is the process where a cell engulfs
  a particle or another another cell.
• Simple organisms like slime moulds and protozoan
  feed by engulfing bacteria.
• In our immune system, specialised cells called
  macrophages carry out this task. Macrophage
  means big eater

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Macrophages are the bodys mobile waste disposal
system, but the products are recycled. When a red
blood cell reaches it use-by date, the macrophage
eats it and the iron is recycled back to the bone
marrow to make more red cells.
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Macrophages are white blood cells
Stem cells and monoblasts in bone marrow
Blood monocyte
Liver macrophage
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Macrophages the cells for all seasons
Defense against bacteria and other pathogens
Development
Bone remodelling
Wound healing
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Why dont tattoos fade?
Macrophages in the skin eat the pigment grains
and become trapped. As each macrophage dies,
another comes and eats it, and gets filled with
pigment in turn.
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Macrophages are phagocytes (big eater)
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Macrophages in blood vessels
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Macrophage engulfing cancer cell
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Macrophages in a mouse embryo
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Bone is very active Osteoclasts dissolve bone
Osteoblasts make bone
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Osteoclasts
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What is a gene?
DNA
mRNAs
PROTEIN
P
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Expression of c-fms/EGFP during embryonic
development.
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Macrophages and Disease Macrophages are involved
in many diseases including rheumatoid arthritis,
heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease,cancer
. If the destructive ability of macrophages is
not switched off then surrounding tissues are
damaged causing disease.
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Our aim is to understand how macrophages cause
damage during inflammation, which will lead to
the development of new drugs to treat
inflammatory diseases like arthritis