The monocytes produced by the bone marrow intervene in the non-specific or innate defense mechanisms, that is the first line of defense of the organism against aggressions generally recognized as dangerous.
. Among these tasks the phagocytic capacity stands out, whose activation processes are not only involved in the classic defense against pathogens (infections), but also in the regulation of other physiological (coagulation) and / or pathological (atherosclerosis) activities.Monocytes originate in the bone marrow and travel through the bloodstream to tissues throughout the body where they mature and differentiate into macrophages. In addition, monocytes and macrophages stimulate other cells of the immune system by releasing enzymes, complement proteins and others. regulatory factors.
To know more - Monocytes: Functions and Values
Generally, a quantity greater than 600 monocytes per microliter of peripheral blood is defined as monocytosis. Due to the short residence times (about eight hours), monocytes are not very abundant in the blood, where they represent about 1-6% of all white blood cells.
