Immune cell function

Prof B Nkambule
Email: [email protected]
Office: E3-417, Westville
 Learning outcomes
• Understand the process of diapedisis
• Describe the main innate immune cells
• Blood Types
• White Blood Cells
• Blood Immunity
• Hemostasis
Where are white blood cells formed?

• Partially in the bone marrow

granulocytes and monocytes
• Partially in the lymph tissue
(lymph glands, spleen, thymus,
tonsils)
Lymphocytes and plasma
cells
• Transported to where they are
needed
site of infection and
inflammation
Neutrophil recuitment to sites of
inflammation
Neutrophils:

• Circulate for approx 5 days

• Most abundant 50-60% of circulating immune

cells

• Granules can be secreted to kill pathogens:

respiratory burst

• Highly phagocytic, especially if pathogens are

coated with antibody or complement

• Hall mark of acute inflammatory response

Diapedesis
• Process where the cell squeezes through the pores of
• the blood capillaries.
• • But a pore is much smaller that a cell.

• How does it do this?

• A small portion of the cell slides through the pore at a
• time: the portion sliding through is momentarily
• constricted to the size of the pore.
 What is Chemotaxis?
• When a tissue is inflamed, products are formed

During chemotaxis, cells move in response to – Bacterial or viral toxins

– Degenerative products from the inflamed tissue
chemical signals – Reaction products from the complement complex

– Reaction products caused by plasma clotting

• Causes a concentration gradient

– Concentration greatest near the source

– which directs movement of the WBCs.

• Effective up to 100µm away from an inflamed tissue because all tissues are not >50 um away from a capillary

• This provides an effective way to move hordes of white blood cells from the capillaries to the inflamed area.
What is Phagocytosis?
Phagocytosis refers to cellular ingestion
• Is selective, therefore how are they recognized?
1. Rough surface
2. No protective protein coat
3. The presence of antibodies on the cells- attach toreceptors on the
phagocyte membrane =opsonization.

Monocytes and Neutrophils are known as professional phagocytes

• Granulocytes
Polymorphonuclear Neutrophils

Polymorphonuclear Eosiniphils

Polymorphonuclear Basophils

Called polys, because of the multiple nuclei

• Monocytes
• Lymphocytes
• Plasma cells (occasionally)
 Concentrations of the WBCs
• An adult has about 7000 white blood cells per
microliter blood.

• Granulocytes: 4-8 hrs circulating; 4-5 days in tissues where

needed. Shortened to a few hrs in serious infection.

• Monocyctes: 10-20 hrs in blood live for months as macrophages on

• the tissues (unless destroyed performing phagocytosis)
•
• •Lymphocytes enter the circulatory system continually (via the
• lymph). Pass out of the blood after a few hrs – back into the tissue
• (diapedesis). Repeated. Have a lifespan of weeks to months
• depending on need.
 Neutrophils
• Mature cells

• First WBCs to arrive at an infection site or injured site

How do they attack and destroy bacteria in the blood?

• Attaches to the particle
• Projects pseudopodia in all directions around the particle
• Pseudopodia meet one another on the opposite side and fuse
• Creates a chamber with the particle inside
• The chamber invaginates (turns inside out) and forms a freefloating
• phagocyte
• Can phagocytize 3 -20 bacteria before it dies.
Where are macrophages found?

1. Skin
2. Lymph nodes:
• Line the lymph sinuses; Antigen-presenting cells
3. Lungs:
• Alveolar macrophages – phagocytize particles that are entrapt in the alveoli
4. Liver
• Kupffer cells - prevent bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract from entering the general systemic circulation.

5. Spleen and bone marrow

• When an organism succeeds in entering the general circulation

6. CNS
• Microglia
 Monocytes/Macrophages
• Monocytes in blood and Macrophages in tissues
– Have large, eccentrically placed, bean-shaped nucleus
– When monocytes enter tissues
– they increase in size (swell) and develop large numbers of granules (lysosomes)

• Macrophages are the mature cells

• Attack and destroy bacteria in tissue.
• Can phagocytize up to 100 bacteria (more than neutrophils)
• Can also engulf larger particles (unlike neutrophils)
• Lysosymes and other cytoplasmic granules dump digestive (proteolytic) enzymes and
bactericidal agents (oxidizing agents, eg hydrogen peroxide) into the vesicle – digests the particle.
• After digestion, extrude residual products and can continue to function (>months).
 Monocyte-Macrophage system
• Some macrophages (mobile cells) become attached to the
tissues (monocytes) for months to years until stimulated.

• Break away – become mobile macrophages again.

• Combination of monocytes, mobile macrophages, fixed tissue

• macrophages and some specialized endothelial cells in the

bone marrow spleen and lymph nodes make up the reticulo-
endothelial system.
Eosinophils
• Under normal conditions found in the spleen, lymph nodes and
gastrointestinal tract where survive for several days. Circulate
for 8-12 hours
• Usually produced in large numbers in people with parasitic
infections.
– Weak phagocytes
– Instead, attach to the parasites by special surface molecules and
release:
• hydrolytic enzymes from their granules
• Highly reactive forms of oxygen (peroxidases)
• Highly larvacidal polypeptide = major basic protein
 Eosinophils (cont)
• Also collect in tissues in which allergic reactions occur (lungs,
skin).
– Partly due to release of eosinophil chemotactic factor by mast cells and basophils

• Detoxify inflammation-inducing substances released by mast

cells and basophils.

• Phagocytose and destroy allergen-antibody complexes.

Basophils
• Found in the circulating blood. Similar to tissue mast cells found immediately outside of the capillaries.
• Release heparin into the blood (prevents clotting).

• Also histamine, bradykinin, seratonin (mainly mast cells).

• Role in allergic reactions because immunoglobulin E (IgE) attaches to mast cells and basophils.
– When antigen (Ag) attached to IgE antibody (Ab), cells rupture.
– Releases large amounts histamine, bradykinin, seratonin, heparin, slow reacting substance of anaphylaxis (It induces prolonged, slow contraction of
smooth muscle and has a major bronchoconstriction role in asthma ) lysosomal enzymes – allergic manifestation
Lymphocytes
• Large nucleus, little cytoplasm, smallest of WBCs but size
increases when activated by foreign antigen
• Lymphocytes play the central role in all immunological
defence mechanisms, provide specific immune response
(acquired)
• Lymphocytes produced in bone marrow but may undergo
further development and division elsewhere.
• They migrate to lymphoid tissue (mostly lymph nodes, spleen,
tonsils, lymphoid follicles in gastrointestinal tract) encounter
foreign antigen.
Lymphocyte clones
• Occurs when specific antigens come into contact with the
lymphocytes
• Lymphocytes are activated
B lymphocytes produce antibodies when activated
T lymphocytes produce activate T cells (can destroy
infected cells).
• Activated lymphocytes react highly specifically against the
antigens that initiated their development.
• Produces tremendous amounts of duplicate lymphocytes =
clones
 Platelets (thrombocytes)
What are platelets?
– Minute disc 1-4um in diameter.

• How are they formed?

– Formed in the bone marrow from megakaryocytes (extremely large cells).
– Fragment into minute platelets in the bone marrow or soon after entering the blood.
– thrombopoietin binds to TPO receptor on megakarocytes and stimulates thrombopoiesis

• When platelet count is low, there is increased free thrombopoietin which can stimulate thrombopoiesis (platelet formation)
• When the platelet count is high, there is decreased free thrombopoieten and decreased stimulation of megakaryocytes
• 300000 platelets per microliter blood. Replaced once every 10 days.
• Eliminated from the circulation by the macrophages, especially in the spleen.
Platelets Characteristics
• No nuclei

Cytoplasm:
• 1. Contains alpha and dense granules

Cell membrane has:

Glycoprotein coat – selectively adheres to injured endothelium
Phopholipids – activate multiple stages in the blood-clotting process.