A liquid culture technique for growing mononuclear phagocyte colonies on a glass surface is described. This useful and reliable technique made it possible to study immature mononuclear phagocytes. In the mononuclear phagocyte colonies the cells grow separate from each other in a single layer. Three types of cells are recognized in these colonies, namely nondividing macrophages, and proliferatin...

RATIONALE Alcoholics are more likely to have infections, mainly in the respiratory system. Alcohol seems to inhibit the immune system. Despite the extensive literature related to alcoholism, data related to the immune system are still not conclusive. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to verify the influence of acute alcohol intake on colloid distribution in the organs of the mononuclear...

Bizzare multinucleated stromal giant cells were observed in a case of adolescent gynaecomastia. Similar cells have been described in the female breast in both benign and malignant conditions where they are thought to originate either from reactive stromal cells or from the mononuclear phagocyte system, respectively. Immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy in this case support the idea that...

In bacterial infections, mononuclear and polymorphonuclear phagocytes are key components of host defenses. Recent investigations have indicated that chemokines are able to recruit and activate phagocytes. In particular, interleukin-8 (IL-8) attracts polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), while monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is selective for cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage. In...

The mononuclear phagocyte system regulates tissue homeostasis as well as all phases of tissue injury and repair. To do so changing tissue environments alter the phenotype of tissue macrophages to assure their support for sustaining and amplifying their respective surrounding environment. Interferon-regulatory factors are intracellular signaling elements that determine the maturation and gene tr...

Background: Semaphorin-3A (Sema3A), as a secreted semaphorin, is an immune modulator molecule participating in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) modulate the target-gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. It has been proposed that miRNAs may be crucial to the modulation of the function of semaphorins. Previous findings have proven that miR-497-5p is upregula...