Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Functional and morphological differences between human alveolar and interstitial macrophages.

M Fathi1, A Johansson, M Lundborg

  • 1Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

Experimental and Molecular Pathology
|March 27, 2001
PubMed
Summary

Human lung macrophages are diverse. Alveolar macrophages (AM) and interstitial macrophages (IM) differ in size, morphology, and phagocytic function, impacting their roles in lung immunity.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Population-based cohort study of oral contraceptive use and risk of depression.

Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences·2023
Same author

Technological readiness and implementation of genomic-driven precision medicine for complex diseases.

Journal of internal medicine·2021
Same author

Immunoglobulins as Biomarkers for Gastrointestinal Nematodes Resistance in Small Ruminants: A systematic review.

Scientific reports·2020
Same author

The importance of sample size with regard to the robustness of postmortem reference values.

Forensic science international·2020
Same author

Range of motion in the talo-navicular and the calcaneo-cuboid joints evaluated by ultrasound during clubfoot treatment with normal references up to the age of four years.

Journal of children's orthopaedics·2018
Same author

Coinfections identified from metagenomic analysis of cervical lymph nodes from tularemia patients.

BMC infectious diseases·2018

Area of Science:

  • Pulmonary immunology
  • Cell biology

Background:

  • Macrophages are crucial for lung defense.
  • Lung macrophages exist in different compartments, suggesting functional specialization.
  • Alveolar macrophages (AM) and interstitial macrophages (IM) are key cell types.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the differences between human AM and IM.
  • To compare their morphology and phagocytic capabilities.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of lung tissue from nine cancer patients.
  • Isolation of AM via bronchoalveolar lavage.
  • Isolation of IM through mechanical and enzymatic lung tissue digestion.
  • Morphological assessment using transmission electron microscopy.
  • Functional evaluation via phagocytosis assays.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Interstitial macrophages (IM) were smaller and more morphologically diverse than alveolar macrophages (AM).
  • A subset of IM exhibited AM-like morphology.
  • AM demonstrated significantly higher phagocytic activity than IM (P <0.001).

Conclusions:

  • Human lung macrophages are heterogeneous.
  • Differences in morphology and phagocytosis between AM and IM are significant.
  • This heterogeneity is critical for understanding macrophage roles in lung inflammation.