The central piece of this defensive system is the monocyte/macrophage, which plays dual functional roles in regulating cytokine production and phagocytosis.
If a foreign object is larger than approximately 10 /jm in diameter, encapsulation rather than phagocytosis occurs.
The mechanisms of phagocytosis have been especially well studied in insects and molluscs.
Both phagocytosis and spreading involve complex adhesive processes.
The impaired phagocytosis then facilitates intracellular survival of the bacteria.
The presence of autophagic vacuoles and lysosomes in their cytoplasm after detachment suggests their role in the phagocytosis and lysis of photoreceptor debris.
Phagocytosis by invertebrate cells in vitro: biochemical events and other characteristics compared with vertebrate phagocytic systems.
While pinocytosis occurs in all cells, phagocytosis is restricted to specialized mammalian cells such as macrophages, monocytes and neutrophils.
