Monday, August 31, 2015

Macrophage

The macrophage, classified as a multitude of tissues ranging from blood to bone marrow, can be found in the bone marrow of our skeletal system. After being formed in the bone marrow the macrophage is released into the blood stream. The macrophage does not have a defined form but is almost free flowing. However, its internal organelles look very similar to a red blood cells, containing lysosomes, mitochondria, a nucleus, and vesicles as well.




This cell has many functions, most of which deal with keeping the body in good health. However, the most notable function of this cell is to create a long term resistance to pathogens. The macrophage does this by engulfing a pathogen and ingesting it. After eating the pathogen, the macrophage produces a protein on the surface of its cell. This protein is called an antigen. After displaying this antigen, another cell from the immune system called a helper T-cell will identify the protein and send a message to the B-cell. The B-cell will then start producing more of the antigen to help to rid of the pathogen.


Mandal, Aananya. "Macrophage Function." News-Medical.net. News-Medical, 24 Mar. 2010. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.

 "Macrophage | Cell." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.

"INTRACELLULAR EVASION OF THE CELL-MEDIATED RESPONSE." ParaSite. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownAugust 31, 2015 at 7:00 PM

    This post is very informative and i learned much detail about macrophages. Good use of a picture.

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  2. UnknownAugust 31, 2015 at 7:42 PM

    Woah, I'm pretty surprised at the complexity of the macrophage, The functions seemed simple to carry out and I assumed it would be similar to a red blood cell, in which most organelles are removed, but engulfing and translating viral or bacterial DNA into a antigen requires many more functions than I expected. Thanks Grant!

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