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Phagocytosis definitions

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  • Phagocytosis
    A process where immune cells engulf and digest invading microbes, crucial for innate immunity.
  • Macrophages
    Immune cells capable of phagocytosis, playing a key role in engulfing and digesting pathogens.
  • Dendritic cells
    Immune cells involved in phagocytosis, important for antigen presentation and immune response activation.
  • Neutrophils
    A type of immune cell that performs phagocytosis, rapidly responding to infection sites.
  • Chemotaxis
    Movement of phagocytes towards chemical signals, such as cytokines, to reach infection sites.
  • Cytokines
    Signaling proteins that mediate and regulate immunity, inflammation, and hematopoiesis.
  • Opsonins
    Molecules that enhance phagocytosis by marking antigens for an immune response.
  • Phagosome
    A vesicle formed around a microbe during phagocytosis, containing the engulfed material.
  • Phagolysosome
    A cellular structure formed by the fusion of a phagosome with a lysosome, enabling digestion.
  • Lysosomes
    Organelles containing digestive enzymes, crucial for breaking down cellular waste and pathogens.
  • Reactive oxygen species
    Chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen, used by phagocytes to destroy pathogens.
  • Exocytosis
    The process of releasing degraded material from a cell by fusing a vesicle with the cell membrane.
  • Mannose binding lectins
    Proteins that bind to mannose on microbes, facilitating phagocyte attachment and recognition.
  • C5a
    A potent chemoattractant that recruits phagocytes to sites of infection during immune responses.
  • Pattern recognition receptors
    Receptors on immune cells that detect pathogen-associated molecular patterns to initiate immune responses.