Monocytes and Macrophages: Functions and Diseases

doi:10.1059/0003-4819-88-1-78

Monocytes and Macrophages: Functions and Diseases

MARTIN J. CLINE, M.D., F.A.C.P.;
ROBERT I. LEHRER, M.D.;
MARY C. TERRITO, M.D.; and
DAVID W. GOLDE, M.D., F.A.CP.

Excerpt

The mononuclear phagocyte complex is a widespread system of cells originating in the bone marrow monoblast and promonocyte, passing through the intermediate monocyte stage in the blood, and culminating in the tissue macrophages of the lung, liver, spleen, and pleural and peritoneal spaces. The cells are prominently phagocytic and have a well-developed lysosomal system. They function in host defense reactions against micro-organisms, in interactions with lymphoid cells in immunity, in disposal of cell debris, and possibly in the regulation of granulopoiesis. Monocytes and the alveolar macrophage are the most accessible cells of this system for study. Several diseases of mononuclear phagocytes have been identified and characterized. These include microbicidal defects associated with increased susceptibility to infection, enzyme defects leading to storage diseases, and neoplastic diseases in which both cell proliferation and biologically active cell products contribute to the clinical disorder.

Acknowledgments

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Grant support: grant CA 15688 from the U.S. Public Health Service, and a grant from the Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation, Philip Morris, Inc., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, the United States Tobacco Company, and the Tobacco Associates, Inc.

Article and Author Information

▸An edited transcription of an Interdepartmental Clinical Case Conference arranged by the Department of Medicine of the UCLA School of Medicine; Los Angeles, California.
▸Authors who wish to cite a section of this conference and specifically indicate its author can use this example for the form of reference:
LEHRER RI: Metabolism and microbicidal function, pp. 79-82 in CLINE MJ (moderator): Monocytes and macrophages: function and diseases. Ann Intern Med 88:78-88, 1978
▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to Martin J. Cline, M.D.; Department of Medicine, UCLA Center for the Health Sciences; Los Angeles, CA 90024.
- Received October 25, 1977.
- Accepted October 27, 1977.