Phagocytosis definitions Flashcards
Phagocytosis definitions
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Terms in this set (15)
- PhagocytosisA process where immune cells engulf and digest invading microbes, crucial for innate immunity.
- MacrophagesImmune cells capable of phagocytosis, playing a key role in engulfing and digesting pathogens.
- Dendritic cellsImmune cells involved in phagocytosis, important for antigen presentation and immune response activation.
- NeutrophilsA type of immune cell that performs phagocytosis, rapidly responding to infection sites.
- ChemotaxisMovement of phagocytes towards chemical signals, such as cytokines, to reach infection sites.
- CytokinesSignaling proteins that mediate and regulate immunity, inflammation, and hematopoiesis.
- OpsoninsMolecules that enhance phagocytosis by marking antigens for an immune response.
- PhagosomeA vesicle formed around a microbe during phagocytosis, containing the engulfed material.
- PhagolysosomeA cellular structure formed by the fusion of a phagosome with a lysosome, enabling digestion.
- LysosomesOrganelles containing digestive enzymes, crucial for breaking down cellular waste and pathogens.
- Reactive oxygen speciesChemically reactive molecules containing oxygen, used by phagocytes to destroy pathogens.
- ExocytosisThe process of releasing degraded material from a cell by fusing a vesicle with the cell membrane.
- Mannose binding lectinsProteins that bind to mannose on microbes, facilitating phagocyte attachment and recognition.
- C5aA potent chemoattractant that recruits phagocytes to sites of infection during immune responses.
- Pattern recognition receptorsReceptors on immune cells that detect pathogen-associated molecular patterns to initiate immune responses.