CELLULAR TRAFFIC JAMS

CELLULAR TRAFFIC JAMS

Study in Nature Communications finds that groups of neutrophils diverge at capillary junctions

They are found to influence the way their neighbours move by biasing hydraulic resistance and gradients of substances called chemo attractants which attract them

Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that helps heal damaged tissues and resolve infections

Neutrophil blood levels increase naturally in response to infections, injuries, and other types of stress

Abnormally high level of neutrophils in the blood is known as neutrophilic leukocytosis, also known as neutrophilia

Rises in neutrophil levels usually occur naturally due to infections or injuries. It may also increase in some medications, some cancers, physical or emotional stress, surgery or accidents, smoking tobacco, pregnancy, obesity, genetic conditions such as Down syndrome, surgical removal of the spleen, some inflammatory conditions can increase neutrophil levels, including rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, hepatitis, and vasculitis

Abnormally low blood level of neutrophils is a condition called neutropenia

A drop in neutrophil blood levels typically occurs when the body uses immune cells faster than it produces them or the bone marrow is not producing them correctly

Low in neutrophil levels due to cancer, an enlarged spleen,  viral infection such as influenza, bacterial infections such as tuberculosis, myelofibrosis, a disorder that involves bone marrow scarring, vitamin B-12 deficiency, radiation therapy involving bone marrow, phenytoin and sulfa drugs, chemotherapy medications, toxins, such as benzenes and insecticides, aplastic anemia, benign neutropenia, which causes low cell levels for no apparent reason

Eating foods rich in B-12 may help improve low neutrophil blood levels. Foods rich in vitamin B-12 such as eggs,  milk and other dairy products, meat, fish, poultry, many fortified breakfast cereals and bread products, fortified nutritional yeast products

Neutrophils help prevent infections by blocking, disabling, digesting, or warding off invading particles and microorganisms

The body produces neutrophils in the bone marrow, and they account for 55–70 percent of all white blood cells in the bloodstream

Neutrophils can travel through junctions in the cells that line blood vessel walls and enter into tissues directly

Doctors can identify changes in neutrophil levels from a blood test called a complete blood count (CBC) with differential, which identifies specific groups of white blood cells.