neutrophil
(noun)
A cell, especially a white blood cell that consumes foreign invaders in the blood.
Examples of neutrophil in the following topics:
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Pathogen Recognition
- A neutrophil is also a phagocytic leukocyte that engulfs and digests pathogens .
- A basophil is a leukocyte that, like a neutrophil, releases chemicals to stimulate the inflammatory response .
- Neutrophils and monocytes leave the capillaries.
- Neutrophils, dendritic cells, and macrophages release chemicals to stimulate the inflammatory response.
- Neutrophils and macrophages also consume invading bacteria by phagocytosis.
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Innate Immune Response
- In this compound light micrograph, purple-stained neutrophil (upper left) and eosinophil (lower right) are white blood cells that float among red blood cells in this blood smear.
- Neutrophils provide an early, rapid, and nonspecific defense against invading pathogens.
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White Blood Cells
- One of the two main groups are the granulocytes, which contain granules in their cytoplasm, and include the neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils ( a).
- (a) Granulocytes (neutrophils, eosinophils and basophils) are characterized by a lobed nucleus and granular inclusions in the cytoplasm.
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The Role of Blood in the Body
- White blood cells (including neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, eosinophils, and basophils) are involved in the immune response.
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Humoral Immune Response
- Antibodies also opsonize pathogen cells, wherein they mark them for destruction by phagocytic cells, such as macrophages or neutrophils.
- Antibodies may inhibit infection by (a) preventing the antigen from binding its target, (b) tagging a pathogen for destruction by macrophages or neutrophils, or (c) activating the complement cascade.
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Antibody Functions
- Antibodies also mark pathogens for destruction by phagocytic cells, such as macrophages or neutrophils, because they are highly attracted to macromolecules complexed with antibodies.
- Antibodies may inhibit infection by (a) preventing the antigen from binding to its target, (b) tagging a pathogen for destruction by macrophages or neutrophils, or (c) activating the complement cascade.
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Endocytosis
- For example, when microorganisms invade the human body, a type of white blood cell called a neutrophil will remove the invaders through this process, surrounding and engulfing the microorganism, which is then destroyed by the neutrophil .
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Immunodeficiency
- Neutropenia is one form in which the immune system produces a below-average number of neutrophils, the body's most abundant phagocytes.
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Connective Tissues: Bone, Adipose, and Blood
- Neutrophils are phagocytic cells that participate in one of the early lines of defense against microbial invaders, aiding in the removal of bacteria that has entered the body.