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 white blood cells
Scientists discover cells that control inflammation in chronic disease
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new type of immune cell that can be out of control in certain chronic inflammatory diseases, worsening the symptoms of conditions like psoriasis and asthma, is described for the first time ...
Vaccine against chlamydia not far away
Nov 16, 2009 |
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When a woman becomes infected with Chlamydia, the first white blood cells that arrive at the scene to fight the infection are not the most effective. This is shown by a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy. This discovery ...
Researchers to develop novel drug detection technology using software that acts like a robotic scientist
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Nov 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Every time a person snorts cocaine, it doesn’t just go to his or her head: It also provokes a response in the immune system, creating special biomolecules that may serve as a permanent record of each exposure.
Magnetic nanoparticles to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Whether it's magnetic nanoparticles (mNPs) giving an army of 'therapeutically armed' white blood cells direction to invade a deadly tumour's territory, or the use of mNPs to target specific nerve channels ...
Researchers have immune cells running in circles
Nov 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine researchers have identified the important role a protein plays in the body's first line of defense in directing immune cells called neutrophils toward ...
Bacteria 'launch a shield' to resist attack
Nov 02, 2009 |
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Bacteria that cause chronic lung infections can communicate with each other to form a deadly shield against the body's natural defenses. Studying these interactions could lead to new ways of treating bacteria that are resistant ...
Immunotherapy demonstrates long-term success in treating lymphoma
Oct 30, 2009 |
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Targeted immunotherapy has been an attractive new therapeutic area for a number of cancers because it has the potential to destroy tumor cells without damaging surrounding normal tissue. New study results demonstrate high ...
Some health products paring back on claims they boost the immune system
Oct 30, 2009 |
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Airborne, the popular dietary supplement created by a germ-averse schoolteacher, no longer boasts that it can prevent your cold or ease the aggravating symptoms. Instead, the packaging says the effervescent pill helps "support ...
New research suggests how low doses of radiation can cause heart disease and stroke
Oct 23, 2009 |
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A mathematical model constructed by researchers at Imperial College London predicts the risk of cardiovascular disease (heart attacks, stroke) associated with low background levels of radiation. The model shows that the ...
The bowels of infection
Oct 21, 2009 |
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Current research suggests that latent cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection may exacerbate inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The related report by Onyeagocha et al, "Latent cytomegalovirus infection exacerbates experimental colitis," ...
Scientists Create NICE Solution to Pneumonia Vaccine Testing Problems
Oct 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Medical clinics the world over could benefit from new software* created at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where a team of scientists has found a way to improve the efficiency ...
New study identifies cellular mechanism that causes lupuslike symptoms in mice
Oct 18, 2009 |
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Macrophages, the scavenger cells of the body's immune system, are responsible for disposing of dying cells. Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have identified one pathway in this important process in mice ...
New chromosomal abnormality identified in leukemia associated with Down syndrome
Oct 18, 2009 |
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Researchers identified a new chromosomal abnormality in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that appears to work in concert with another mutation to give rise to cancer. This latest anomaly is particularly common in children ...
Why immune cells count in early pregnancy
Oct 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A University of Adelaide researcher has been named the 2009 Young Investigator Award winner for shedding new light on why some women are infertile, and why some pregnancies end in miscarriage.
ID3 provides career counseling for blood progenitors, driving the creation of gamma-delta T cells
Oct 15, 2009 |
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Like an unusually forceful career counselor, the Id3 protein decides the fate of a given white blood cell precursor, according to researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Their findings, published today in the journal Immunity, de ...
