Lecture 9: White Blood Cells

Question 1

What are white blood cells?

Answer 1

All WBCs (leukocytes) have a nucleus but no hemoglobin

Question 2

What WBC are granulocytes?

Answer 2

Granulocytes: neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils which is based cytoplasmic granules made visible by staining

Question 3

What WBC are agranular?

Answer 3

Agranular: monocytes and lymphocytes which is based cytoplasmic granules made visble by staining

Question 4

Are WBCs less or more numerous than RBCs?

Answer 4

WBCs are less numerous than RBCs (1 WBC for every 700 RBC)

Question 5

Are the total WBC population circulating in the blood more or less in time?

Answer 5

~2% of total WBC population is in circulating blood at any time–rest in lymphatic fluid, skin, lungs, lymph nodes & spleen.

Question 6

What disease causes high white blood cell count?

Answer 6

Leukocytosis is a high white blood cell count–infection, strenuous exercise, anesthesia, or surgery

Question 7

What disease causes low white blood cell count?

Answer 7

Leukopenia is low white blood cell count–radiation, septic shock or chemotherapy

Question 8

What is WBC emigration?

Answer 8

WBCs roll along endothelium, stick to it & squeeze between cells.

Question 9

What are the functions of selectins?

Answer 9

Adhesion molecules help WBCs stick to endothelium, and they are displayed near the site of injury.

Question 10

What are the functions of integrins?

Answer 10

They are found on neutrophils and they assist in movement through vessel wall.

Question 11

What are the functions of Neutrophil?

Answer 11

Fastest response of all WBCs to bacteria, which is directed against bacteria.

Question 12

What protein is released of WBC that acts like antibiotics & poke holes in bacterial cell walls destroying them?

Answer 12

Defensin

Question 13

What protein is released that helps with digest/destroying of bacteria?

Answer 13

Lysozymes

Question 14

What strong protein is realsed that destroys bacteria?

Answer 14

Oxidants (e.g., H2O2)

Question 15

What is Eosinophil function?

Answer 15

They leave capillaries to enter tissue fluid and release histaminase, which slows down inflammation caused by basophils.

They also attack parasitic worms–and phagocytes antibody-antigen complexes.

Question 16

What is Basophil function?

Answer 16

Inolved in inflammatory and allergic reactions which leaves capillaries & enter connective tissue as mast cells.

Question 17

What protein are released for Basophil cells?

Answer 17

Heparin–heightens the inflammatory response

Histamine–increasing blood flow

Serotonin–often results in hypersensitivity (allergic) reactions

Question 18

What is the function of B cells lymphotcyte?

Answer 18

Destory bacteria and their toxins and then they turn into plasma cells that produce antibodies

Question 19

What is the function of T cells lymphotocyte?

Answer 19

Attack viruses, fungi, transplanted organs, cancer cells, & some bacteria.

Question 20

What is the function of natural killer cells lymphocyte?

Answer 20

Attack many different mircrobes & some tumor cells as well as destory foreign invaders by direct attack.

Question 21

What are the functions of Monocyte?

Answer 21

They take longer to get to a site of infection but arrive in larger numbers and then they become wandering macrophages once they leave the capillaries.

Question 22

Once the monocyte become wandering marcrophages, what action do they do to the cell?

Answer 22

Destory microbes and clean up dead tissue following an infection.

Question 23

What is Phagocytes?

Answer 23

“cell eating” of bacteria, performed avidly by neutrophils and monocytes.

Question 24

What is involved in the process of phagocytes?

Answer 24

Chemotaxis, adherence & ingestion, and destruction.

Question 25

Is it neutrophil, basophil, or eosinphil that have weaker phagocytic activity?

Answer 25

Eosinophil

Question 26

What is Chemotaxis?

Answer 26

Attraction of phagocytic cells to the site of infection and the chemcials are released by the pathogen and/or the infected cell attract the phagocytes.

Question 27

What is Adherence?

Answer 27

Fusion of phagocyte to the pathogen’s membrane with indegestion by pseudopodia, resulting in a phagosome.

Question 28

What are the steps of destruction of a WBC?

Answer 28

1) Initiated when the phagosome fuses with lysosome
2) Results ina “phago-lysosome”
3) Lysozyme is released and destorys the membrane of the pathogen
4) Fragments of the dead pathogen are removed from the cell by excocytosis

Question 29

What clincal test is used to measure the changes in numbers of circulatin WBCs (% of each type)?

Answer 29

Differential White Blood Cell Count

Question 30

What is the Normal Range of WBC Counts?

Answer 30

Normal WBC Counts

Neutrophils 60-70% (up if bacterial infection)

Lymphocyte 20-25% (up if viral infection)

Monocyte 3-8% (up if fungal/viral infection)

Eosinophil 2-4% (up if parasite or allergy reaction)

Basophil

Question 31

What is Bone Marrow Transplant?

Answer 31

Intravenous transfer of healthy bone marrow

Question 32

What is the procedure of bone marrow?

Answer 32

Destorys sick bone marrow with radiation & chemotherapy–put sample of donor marrow into patients vein for re-seeding of bone marrow and success depends on histocompatiability of donor and recipient.

Question 33

What type of disease are insisted with bone marrow transplant?

Answer 33

Leukemia, sickle cell, breatst, ovarian, or testicular cancer, lymphoma, or aplastic anemia.