Related topics: cells , immune system
White blood cell
hideWhite 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.
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News tagged with immune cells
Fibre may keep asthma, diabetes at bay, study finds
Oct 28, 2009 |
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Insoluble dietary fibre, or roughage, not only keeps you regular, say Australian scientists, it also plays a vital role in the immune system, keeping certain diseases at bay.
Study shows how carbon nanotubes can affect lining of the lungs
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Oct 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Carbon nanotubes are being considered for use in everything from sports equipment to medical applications, but a great deal remains unknown about whether these materials cause respiratory ...
Manipulating brain inflammation may help clear brain of amyloid plaques
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 22, 2009 |
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In a surprising reversal of long-standing scientific belief, researchers at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida have discovered that inflammation in the brain is not the trigger that leads to buildup of amyloid deposits and ...
Large-scale study probes how cells fight pathogens
Sep 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have deciphered a key molecular circuit that enables the body to distinguish viruses from bacteria and other microbes, providing a deep view of how immune cells in mammals fend ...
A new lead for autoimmune disease
Jun 04, 2009 |
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A drug derived from the hydrangea root, used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine, shows promise in treating autoimmune disorders, report researchers from the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Immune ...
Scientists learn why the flu may turn deadly
May 04, 2009 |
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As the swine flu continues its global spread, researchers from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have discovered important clues about why influenza is more severe in some people than it is in others. ...
New study overturns orthodoxy on how macrophages kill bacteria
Apr 27, 2009 |
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For decades, microbiologists assumed that macrophages, immune cells that can engulf and poison bacteria and other pathogens, killed microbes by damaging their DNA. A new study from the University of Illinois ...
Parasite breaks its own DNA to avoid detection
Apr 15, 2009 |
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The parasite Trypanosoma brucei, which causes African sleeping sickness, is like a thief donning a disguise. Every time the host's immune cells get close to destroying the parasite, it escapes detection by rearranging its DN ...
TV crime drama compound highlights immune cells' misdeeds
Mar 22, 2009 |
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Detectives on television shows often spray crime scenes with a compound called luminol to make blood glow. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have applied the same compound to much smaller ...
A natural approach for HIV vaccine
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Mar 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For 25 years, researchers have tried and failed to develop an HIV vaccine, primarily by focusing on a small number of engineered "super antibodies" to fend off the virus before it takes hold. So far, these ...
Protein helps immune cells to divide and conquer
Mar 08, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a key protein that is required for immune cells called B lymphocytes to divide and replicate themselves. The rapid generation of large ...
Major immune system branch has hidden ability to learn
Jan 26, 2009 |
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Half of the immune system has a hidden talent, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered.
Peering inside the skull of a mouse to solve meningitis mystery
Dec 22, 2008 |
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NYU Langone Medical Center scientists and their collaborators at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., have discovered an unexpected cause for the fatal seizures seen in mice with viral meningitis, an infection ...
Researchers discover new way men can transmit HIV to women
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Dec 16, 2008 |
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Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered a critical new way a man can transmit the HIV virus to a woman.
Cross-country runabouts -- immune cells on the move
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In order to effectively fight pathogens, even at remote areas of the human body, immune cells have to move quickly and in a flexible manner.
