Macrophages+-+ML

toc =Introduction=

The once peaceful land of Fort Blood Cell on Virus Hill has been attacked! The townsfolk are screaming! The livestock are on a rampage! The king has told the general to prep the army. So who is armed for battle? Macrophages, obviously? Right… ...anyone… ...hello?

Oh, you found me again?

Just like an army needs infantry, the body needs **Macrophages**, the fighters of the immune system. Born in the bone marrow, the cells are so large that they can engulf multiple illnesses at once, whole! Whether healing wounds or guarding the body, Macrophages are an essential part of the immune system, and if their numbers were diminished, or not there at all, the consequences would be devastating.

=What do Macrophages Do?=

Guard Cells
Macrophages are made for one of or a mix of jobs: guard cell, wound healer, and attack cell. Guard Cells patrol the bloodstream, looking for sickness or other harmful cells. They are in the body at all times, and make up the majority of the Macrophages when not under attack. Think of these as police. There at a moments notice and can clear a lot of trouble up by themselves.

Wound Healers
Wound healers come in when you get a wound, of course. These Macrophages release a chemical which helps the wound healing process. According to Dr. Mosser from [|ScienceDaily], if a Macrophage is a wound-healing cell, then it cannot be a guard or killer cell. Think of these as first responders, helping the wounded on site.

Attack!!
Attack cells come in when Guard Cells cannot easily get rid of the sickness. Since these cells are only made during times of sickness, they can could have been guard cells as well. Most of time, this type Macrophages can destroy the sickness by themselves. Think of these as the national guard, coming on a moment’s notice to protect the body from illnesses.



=The Life of a Macrophage=

Macrophages' Start
All three of the aforementioned types of Macrophages are grown in the bone marrow with the remains of dead **Monocytes**, another cell in the immune system. Ya, macrophages might just be zombies. In your body. Afterwards, the zombie Macrophages spend a little time in the bone marrow before they go off to either guard, heal, or kill.

Macrophages in the Battle
Attack Cells are the most interesting to follow, so attack cells to follow we will, young Skywalker. They are only made when an illness is found, because otherwise they just use energy to sit there. Anyway, when the attack cells find the illness, they try to kill it by swallowing it whole. Sweet Dreams! Watch this [|Video Of Macrophage Engulfing Foreign Cells] to see a Macrophage in action. media type="youtube" key="w0-0Bqoge2E" height="192" width="338" Video of Macrophage Engulfing Other Cells

When the Going Gets Tough
If the Attack Macrophages cannot kill the illness itself, they will call in the Dendritic Cell, which I will talk about later in the wiki. This causes a LONG series of events, but eventually **antibodies**, little poisonous illness attackers, flood the battlefield. The antibodies flag and poison the illness, which will make it super easy to kill. When

=Macrophages and the Battle of Virus Hill=

Dear King of Fort Blood Cell,

These are the battle plans you requested, sire. Please alert me if any last minute changes are necessary. Until then, the army is ready.

Macrophages are the fighters of the **Immune System**, which is a group of cells whose jobs are to defend the body against illnesses.

First, when the illness is spotted, the Macrophages closeby will travel over to help defeat the illness. Then, special attack macrophages are called in, which are stronger than normal Macrophages. **Neutrophils**, cells built kill anything, including healthy cells, may also be called in.

If the illness has not been defeated yet, the Macrophages will call in the **Dendritic Cell**, the “commander” of the immune system.The Dendritic Cell then goes to a **T-Cell** (the messenger or knight of the body), and when they find one that has a chemical make up like the illness, it creates clones of itself.

The T-Cell then finds a **B-Cell** (the body’s weapons producer or steelsmith) with the same make up and the B-Cell creates antibodies.The antibodies travel to the illness and poison the illness, making it easy for the Macrophages to kill it.

There is alternate course of action if necesary. The T-Cells could turn killer themselves, instead of finding a B-Cell. This kills all of the cells in the area, whether healthy or infected.

Good Wishes, The General

media type="youtube" key="zQGOcOUBi6s" width="392" height="219" A Video by Kurzegaht on the Immune System, coving what I did. =A Life Without Macrophages=

As you already know (Hopefully. Maybe you just skipped to here, who knows), Macrophages play a key role in the body. Whether they’re fighting infections or guarding the body, they’re always doing stuff inside of you. So, what would happen if Macrophages disappeared?

All the sick days... ...ALL OF THEM
For starters, we would be sick a lot. Like, all the time. Macrophages deal with most of the illnesses in your body. Without Macrophages, the whole long process of the immune system would need to be activated every time. That’s alot of sick days.

The Wolverine
We also wouldn’t heal as fast. According to [|ScienceDaily], The release of certain chemicals in Macrophages speed up the healing process. Long story short, there would be no superhealing powers for characters like the Wolverine.

Just... ...one more... ...episode
Macrophages guard the bloodstream for illnesses. If Macrophages weren’t there, it would be harder to find the illnesses. Furthermore, It would be easier for illnesses like HIV to attack. At least we can watch all the Netflix when we're sick. Just… one more.. episode.



=What is Macrophage Activation Syndrome?= Macrophage Activation Syndrome (MAS) is a disease where the body does not creates enough Macrophages. This causes illnesses to run rampant in the body. Symptoms include: Easing bruising, seizures, Muscle bleeding, and comas. If left untreated, MAS can kill in hours, with a 10-20% mortality rate.

The News will Know!
So, you might be thinking “Why isn't this on the news? It needs to be stopped”. Well, that is because MAS only affects around 10% of children with SJIA, an already rare disease were arthritis-like symptoms appear as a child, says Doctor Behrens from [|__Kids Get Arthritis, Too__]. MAS is currently being funded by the National Arthritis Foundation.

A Cure is on the Way
Soligenix Inc. recently completed a study on MAS. Their studies show that a technology named SGX94 (weird name, I know) could create more Macrophages, and other white blood cells, meaning they could counteract the syndrome. This would be a vaccine for MAS (like a flu shot).

=Conclusion=

CHARGE!!!! The Battle of Virus Hill is commencing! The battle plan is being followed and the antibodies have been unleashed. Thank goodness to the attack and guard cells war effort, and the wound cells recovery. So far, MAS has not been unleashed by the enemy, so the grim defeat will not happen. The Immune System, Lead by the Macrophages, will win. It is our destiny!!!

Now the Battle is taken care of, I want to emphasize that Macrophages are a very important part of your immune system, and body. Whether they are guarding against the invaders or healing the wounded cells, they are a necessary part of your body. As you learned, MAS could wipe out alot of Macrophages if not treated, leading to aformentioned grim consequences.

To conclude, I want to show you (yes, you) how Macrophages help in your everyday life. So here we go. You’re probably touching something to read this, right? Maybe a keyboard, a touch screen, a piece of paper you printed out to share with all of your friends (hint hint, nudge nudge). Well, a germ will probably get into your body from it, and Macrophages will probably kill it. Unless you’re reading this in the future on a fancy schmancy photographic holographic projector. In which case, hello future.

=Reference= Burnie, David. Microlife. New York: DK, 1997. Print.

“Docter Diagnoses Rare Complication and Saves a Life.” Kids Get Arthritis, Too. Arthristis Foundation, 2015. Web. 6 Jan. 2015. <[]>.

Holt Science & Technology: Animals. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2005. Print.

Immune System. BrainPOP. BrainPOP, 2014. Web. 22 Dec. 2014. <[]>.

Kurzegagt. Why You Are Still Alive - Immune System Explained. YouTube. Youtube, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <[]>.

"Macrophage." //Wikipedia //. Wikimedia, 2015. Web. 26 Jan. 2015. <[]>.

“Macrophage Activation Syndrome Clinical Presentation.” MEdscape. WebMD LLC, 2014. Web. 22 Dec. 2014. <[|http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1380671-clinical#a0218]>.

“Macrophages Biology.” Macrophage.com. Roslin Institute, 2014. Web. 22 Dec. 2014. <[]>.

“Macrophages the ‘Defence’ Cells That Help throughout the Body.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 27 Aug. 2010. Web. 5 Jan. 2015. <[]>.

NIBIB gov. Macrophage Engulfs Foriegn Cells. Youtube. Youtube, 2015. Web. 14 Jan. 2015. <[]>.

Padilla, Michael J., et al. Prentice Hall Science Explorer. Boston: Pearson, 2009. Print. “Soligenix’s Macrophage Activation Syndrome Study Shows Promise.” Vaccine News. Vaccine News, 6 Jan. 2015. Web. 21 Jan. 2015. <[]>.

“What Is a Macrophage.” News Medical. AZO Network, 2015. Web. 5 Jan. 2015. <[]>.

“What’s Blood?” KidsHealth. Nemours Foundation, 2014. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <[]>.

Wikipedia was used for Picture Only

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