УДК 612.017.1:616-092.9

Navneet Kaur, Naqsha Aminath, E. N. Morozova, O.N. Petizina, V. N. Morozov

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MACROPHAGES

SE “Lugansk state medical university”

Macrophages are a major cell population in most of the tissues in the body, and their numbers increase further in the inflammation, wounding and malignancy. Their tropic roles for other cell types in development and homeostasis are becoming increasingly evident. That is why the main aim of this report will be to understand the role of macrophages in maintenance of the homeostasis in the organism. Macrophages are the component of the mononuclear phagocyte system. We have different types of this cells in the organism: monocytes of blood, and their precursors in bone marrow; histiocytes of connective tissue; littoral cell (von Kupffer cell) interspersed among cells lining the sinusoids of the liver and cells in walls of sinusoids in the spleen and lymph nodes; microglia cells of the central nervous system; macrophages in pleura, peritoneum, alveoli of lungs, spleen, and in synovial joints; free macrophages present in pleural, peritoneal and synovial fluids; dendritic cells of the epidermis, and similar highly branched cells in lymph nodes, spleen and thymus. All cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system have some
features in common. They are all large cell (15-25µm) in diameter, nucleus is euchromatic; have irregular surfaces which bear filopodia, less or more oval in shape, but the dendritic cells are highly branched. Macrophages often form aggregations. All cells of the system are believed to arise from stem cells in bone marrow (classified as CFU-G/M stem cells). The main function of all variants of the macrophages is a defense. Thus we concluded that macrophages in different tissues are characterized by different names and with some specific features which bring out the immune responses in that tissue, due to their similar properties they are integrated as one system Mononuclear phagocyte system.