Phagocytosis Flashcards
What are the 2 types of white blood cells?
- Phagocytes - ingest and destroy the pathogen by a process of phagocytosis before the pathogen can cause any harm.
- Lymphocytes - are involved in the immune response.
What is the process of phagocytosis?
When large particles e.g. bacteria can be engulfed by cells in the vesicles formed from the cell-surface membrane.
Where are phagocytes located?
They travel in the blood but can move out of blood vessels into other tissues.
What happens during phagocytosis?
1) Pathogens release toxins and chemicals which attracts the phagocyte towards it.
2) The phagocyte has many receptors on its cell surface membrane which recognises the chemicals and attach to them.
3) They engulf the pathogen to form a vesicle known as a phagosome.
4) Lysosomes which are already present in the phagocyte will move towards the phagosome and fuse with it.
5) Lysosomes releases enzyme lysozyme which ingests the bacteria by hydrolysis of their cell walls.
6) The soluble products from the breakdown of the pathogen are absorbed by the cytoplasm of the phagocyte.
