Effector Mechanisms in Immunity
Effector Mechanisms in Immunity Frixos Paraskevas MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX The function of the immune system is under genetic control1 and molecular genetic studies have helped to elucidate the mechanism of…
Megakaryocytes
Megakaryocytes Amy E. Geddis Megakaryocytes are large polyploid cells within the bone marrow that produce circulating platelets. Platelets are small anucleate cells that play an essential role in hemostasis, both…
T Lymphocytes and Natural Killer Cells
T Lymphocytes and Natural Killer Cells Frixos Paraskevas MORPHOLOGY The T lymphocyte under routine staining procedures (Giemsa or Wright) is 5 to 8 µm in diameter, with a high nucleocytoplasmic…
B Lymphocytes
B Lymphocytes Frixos Paraskevas ONTOGENY Pluripotential stem cells give rise to all hematopoietic lineages, undergoing asymmetric division, i.e., one daughter cell follows a pathway of differentiation, whereas the other remains…
Monocytes, Macrophages, and Dendritic Cells
Monocytes, Macrophages, and Dendritic Cells Matthew Collin Derralynn A. Hughes Annette Plüddemann Siamon Gordon INTRODUCTION Monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells (DCs) constitute a group of myeloid cells which share common…
Lymphocytes and Lymphatic Organs
Lymphocytes and Lymphatic Organs Frixos Paraskevas LYMPHOCYTES: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE In the early part of the 20th century, the main debate about the nature and function of the lymphocyte centered around…
The Human Eosinophil
The Human Eosinophil Paige Lacy Darryl J. Adamko Redwan Moqbel INTRODUCTION The eosinophil was first described for its characteristic intracytoplasmic granules exhibiting a high affinity for the negatively charged dye,…
Mast Cells and Basophils: Ontogeny, Characteristics, and Functional Diversity
Mast Cells and Basophils: Ontogeny, Characteristics, and Functional Diversity A. Dean Befus Kelly M. McNagny Judah A. Denburg INTRODUCTION In 1965, Selye1 reviewed the literature on two populations of basophilic…
Neutrophilic Leukocytes
Neutrophilic Leukocytes Keith M. Skubitz Three types of granulocytes are readily identified in peripheral blood smears. Neutrophils are so named because of their neutral staining with Wright stain, whereas eosinophils…
The Birth, Life, and Death of Red Blood Cells: Erythropoiesis, The Mature Red Blood Cell, and Cell Destruction
The Birth, Life, and Death of Red Blood Cells: Erythropoiesis, The Mature Red Blood Cell, and Cell Destruction John G. Quigley Robert T. Means, Jr. Bertil Glader ERYTHROPOIESIS Concept of…
