News tagged with immune cells

Cell death unleashes full force of human antiviral system

A scientific team led by researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Charite Berlin Medical University has made a completely unprecedented discovery showing how much our immune system is provoked into action when ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Secrets of immune response illuminated in new study

When disease-causing invaders like bacteria infect a human host, cells of various types swing into action, coordinating their activities to address the threat.

Medicine & Health / Research

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Using the body's own immune system in the fight against cancer

DNA sequences from tumor cells can be used to direct the immune system to attack cancer, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Medicine & Health / Research

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Growing up on a farm directly affects regulation of the immune system

Immunological diseases, such as eczema and asthma, are on the increase in westernised society and represent a major challenge for 21st century medicine. A new study has shown, for the first time, that growing up on a farm ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Under the Microscope #6 -- Killer T-cells

In this video we see a killer T-cell of the immune system attacking a cancer cell.

Medicine & Health / Research

created Feb 07, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

How autoreactive T cells slip through the cracks

Immune cells capable of attacking healthy organs "see" their targets differently than do protective immune cells that attack viruses, according to work published online this week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Medicine & Health / Research

created Feb 06, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Low levels of lipid antibodies increase complications following heart attack

Coronary patients with low levels of an immune system antibody called anti-PC, which neutralises parts of the "bad" cholesterol, run a greater risk of suffering complications following an acute cardiac episode and thus of ...

Medicine & Health / Cardiology

created Feb 06, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers discover key to immune cell's 'internal guidance' system

University of British Columbia researchers have discovered the molecular pathway that enables receptors inside immune cells to find, and flag, fragments of pathogens trying to invade a host.

Medicine & Health / Research

created Feb 05, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

'Gatekeeper' protein helps immune cells to sound a warning after encountering signs of tumor growth or infection

When the body’s own cells turn into ticking time bombs, as in cases of viral infection or cancerous transformation, a mechanism known as ‘cross-presentation’ enables the immune system’s ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Feb 03, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Identical twins reveal mechanisms behind aging

In a recent study led by Uppsala University, the researchers compared the DNA of identical (monozygotic) twins of different age. They could show that structural modifications of the DNA, where large or small DNA segments ...

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Feb 02, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (15) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Human immune cells react sensitively to 'stress'

Scientists working with Professor Bernd Kaina of the Institute of Toxicology at the Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have demonstrated for the first time that certain cells circulating in human blood ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Feb 02, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Seasonal changes may influence the efficacy of vaccination against diabetes

The development of a medicine for patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus, based on autoantigen GAD65, received a setback following crucial clinical phase 3 trials that failed to show significant effects. One possible explanation ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Feb 01, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

New target for cancer therapy identified, preclinical study shows

Scientists from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) in Brussels identified a new target for cancer therapy, an enzyme which prevents the immune system from recognizing and destroying certain types of tumors. Called ...

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Jan 31, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New method to manage stress responses for more successful tumor removal

The week before and two weeks after surgery are a critical period for the long-term survival rate of cancer patients. Physiological and psychological stresses caused by the surgery itself can inhibit the body's immune responses, ...

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Jan 30, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Stealthy leprosy pathogen evades critical vitamin D-dependent immune response

A team of UCLA scientists has found that the pathogen that causes leprosy has a remarkable ability to avoid the human immune system by inhibiting the antimicrobial responses important to our defenses.

Medicine & Health / Research

created Jan 29, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

White blood cell

White blood cells (WBCs), or leukocytes (also spelled "leucocytes"), are cells of the immune system defending the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials. Five different and diverse types of leukocytes exist, but they are all produced and derived from a multipotent cell in the bone marrow known as a hematopoietic stem cell. Leukocytes are found throughout the body, including the blood and lymphatic system.

The number of leukocytes in the blood is often an indicator of disease. There are normally between 4×109 and 1.1×1010 white blood cells in a litre of blood, making up approximately 1% of blood in a healthy adult. An increase in the number of leukocytes over the upper limits is called leukocytosis, and in leukopenia, this number is much lower than the lower limit. The physical properties of leukocytes, such as volume, conductivity, and granularity, may change due to activation, the presence of immature cells, or the presence of malignant leukocytes in leukemia.

For more information about White blood cell, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.