A cytometric study of the red blood cells in Gaucher disease reveals their abnormal shape that may be involved in increased erythrophagocytosis. (1/27)
(+info)Decrease of sialic acid residues as an eat-me signal on the surface of apoptotic lymphocytes. (2/27)
(+info)Saturated-efferocytosis generates pro-resolving CD11b low macrophages: modulation by resolvins and glucocorticoids. (3/27)
(+info)Ovine serum immunoglobulin has immunomodulatory effects in growing rats gavaged with Salmonella enteritidis. (4/27)
(+info)Probiotic Lactobacillus casei Shirota supplementation does not modulate immunity in healthy men with reduced natural killer cell activity. (5/27)
(+info)Neutrophil clearance: when the party is over, clean-up begins. (6/27)
(+info)Short-term and long-term leptin exposure differentially affect human natural killer cell immune functions. (7/27)
(+info)Intracellular HMGB1 negatively regulates efferocytosis. (8/27)
(+info)Cytophagocytosis is a medical term that refers to the process in which certain types of cells, particularly immune cells like macrophages, engulf and digest other smaller cells or particles. This process helps the body to eliminate foreign substances, cellular debris, and pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
During cytophagocytosis, the macrophage extends its pseudopodia (cytoplasmic extensions) to surround and engulf the target cell or particle, forming a vesicle called a phagosome. The phagosome then fuses with a lysosome, an organelle containing digestive enzymes, which breaks down the contents of the phagosome into smaller molecules that can be used by the macrophage for energy or eliminated as waste products.
Cytophagocytosis is an essential part of the immune system's defense mechanisms and plays a crucial role in maintaining tissue homeostasis and preventing infection and disease.