White Blood Cells

(Leukocytes)

White Blood Cells (Leukocytes)

Leukocytes (White blood cells or WBCs) are
the mobile units of the bodys immune defense
system

Immunity is the bodys ability to resist or

eliminate potentially harmful foreign materials
or abnormal cells.

 The Function of WBCs

The leukocytes and their derivatives

1. Defend against invasion by pathogens
(disease causing micro-organisms such
as bacteria and viruses) by phagocytizing
the foreigners or causing their destruction
by more subtle means
2. Identify and destroy cancer cells that
arise within the body
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3. Function as a cleanup crew that

removes the bodys litter by
phagocytizing debris resulting from dead
or injured cells.
The latter is essential for wound healing
and tissue rapair.

 There are five types of leukocytes

Leukocytes lack hemoglobin (in contrast to
erythrocytes) so they are colorless that is,
white unless specifically stained for
microscopic visibility.
There are five different types of circulating
leukocytes, The five types of leukocytes fall
into two main categories

 Depending on the appearance of their nuclei

The presence or absence of granules in their
cytoplasm when viewed microscopically
(Figure 3)
Neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils are
categorized as polymorphonuclear (many
shaped nucleus) granulocytes (granule
containing cells)
Their nuclei are segmented into several lobes
of varying shapes, and their cytoplasm
contains an abundance of membrane
enclosed granules.
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 The three types of granulocytes are

distinguished or the basis of the varying affinity
of their granules for dyes:
Eosinophils have an affinity for the red dye
eosin,
Basophils preferentially take up a basic blue
dye
Neutrophils are neutral, showing no dye
preference

 Monocytes and lymphocytes are known as

mononuclear (single nucleus) agranulocytes
(cells lacking granules).
Monocytes are the larger of the two and have
an oval or kidney shaped nucleus.
Lymphocytes, the smallest of the leukocytes,
characteristically have a large spherical
nucleus that occupies most of the cell.

Figure 3. Normal blood cellular elements

Figure 4
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GRANULOPOIESIS
Granulopoiesis (or granulocytopoiesis) is
hematopoiesis of granulocytes. The blood
granulocytes and monocytes are formed in
the bone marrow from a common precursor
cell (figure 5).

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Figure 5

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Control of granulopoiesis: myeloid growth

factors
The granulocytes series arises from bone
marrow progenitor cells which are increasingly
specialized.
Many growth factors are involved in this
maturation process including interleukin-1 (IL1), IL-3, IL-5 (for eosinophils), IL-6, IL-11,
granulocyte macrophag colony-stimulating
factor (GM-CSF), granulocyte CSF (G-CSF)
and monocyte CSF (M-CSF).
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The function of granulocytes

1. Chemotaxis (Cell mobilization and migration)
The phagocyte is attracted to bacteria or the
site of inflammation
by chemotactic substances released from
damaged tissues
by complement components also
by the interaction of leukocyte adhesion
molecules with ligands on the damaged
tissues
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2. Phagocytosis

Recognition of a foreign particle is aided by

opsonization with immunoglobulin or
complement (both neutrophils and
monocytes have Fc and C3b receptors)

3. Killing and digestion

Oxygen-dependent and oxygen-independent
pathways.

In the oxygen-dependent reactions:

Superoxide (O2),
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and
Other activated oxygen (O2) species, are
generated from O2 and
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 In neutrophilsm;
H2O2 reacts with myeloperoxidase to kill
bacteria;
Activated oxygen may also be involves a
fall in pH within phagocytic vacuoles into
which lysosomal anzymes are released.
Lactoferrin an iron binding protein present
in neutrophil granules is bacteriostatic by
depriving bacteria of iron.

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 In the oxygen-independent
Although more than two dozen factors
have been implicated in control of the
macrophages response to inflammation,
five of these are believed to play dominant
roles.
They are consist of :
1. tumor necrosis factor (TNF),
2. interleukin-1 (IL-1),
3. granulocyte-monocyte colony stimulating factor
(GM-CSF),
4. granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-SCF),
5. monocyte colony stimulating factor (M-CSF).
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 These factors are formed by activated

macrophage cells in the inflametd tissues and
In smaller quantities by other inflamed tissue
cells.

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