Category: Lab Notes: Immunology

Innate immunity represents the body’s first line of defense against pathogens, consisting of both physical barriers and cellular responses that…

Platelets, also known as thrombocytes, are small anucleate blood cells essential for hemostasis, wound healing, and various immune responses. These…

Red blood cells (RBCs), or erythrocytes, are highly specialized cells dedicated to oxygen transport throughout the body. These unique cells,…

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are rare, self-renewing cells residing primarily in the bone marrow that give rise to all blood…

Mucosal immunity is a crucial component of the immune system that provides protection at mucosal surfaces, which are the primary…

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen-presenting cells that serve as a crucial bridge between innate and adaptive immunity. Named for…

Mast cells are long-lived tissue-resident immune cells that play crucial roles in both innate and adaptive immunity.  Originally discovered by…

Alveolar macrophages are specialized tissue-resident macrophages that patrol the air spaces of the lungs, serving as the first line of…

Microglia are the resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS), comprising approximately 10-15% of all brain cells.  As…

Kupffer cells are specialized tissue-resident macrophages that reside in the liver, representing the largest population of fixed macrophages in the…

Macrophages are highly versatile immune cells that form a crucial component of the innate immune system. These large phagocytic cells…

Basophils are the least abundant granulocytes in circulation, comprising less than 1% of peripheral blood leukocytes. Despite their rarity, these…

Eosinophils are specialized granulocytes that comprise approximately 1-3% of circulating white blood cells in healthy individuals.  These distinctive cells, characterized…

Monocytes are large, mononuclear leukocytes that constitute a crucial component of the innate immune system.  These versatile cells circulate in…

Neutrophils, also known as polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), are the most abundant type of white blood cells in human blood, comprising…