Oncology & Cancer

New cancer drug candidate targets immune system 'brakes'

The human immune system has a powerful ability to ward off invaders, from viruses and bacteria to cancer cells. But it also has a series of checks and balances, molecular brakes to prevent unnecessary immune responses. In ...

Medical research

Alterations to gut mucus may trigger ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis is the most common type of inflammatory bowel disease, characterized by chronic ulcers and inflammation in the colon and rectum. Symptoms can be lifelong and range from mild to life-threatening. There is ...

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White blood cell

White blood cells (WBCs), or leukocytes (also spelled "leucocytes"), are cells of the immune system defending the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials. Five different and diverse types of leukocytes exist, but they are all produced and derived from a multipotent cell in the bone marrow known as a hematopoietic stem cell. Leukocytes are found throughout the body, including the blood and lymphatic system.

The number of leukocytes in the blood is often an indicator of disease. There are normally between 4×109 and 1.1×1010 white blood cells in a litre of blood, making up approximately 1% of blood in a healthy adult. An increase in the number of leukocytes over the upper limits is called leukocytosis, and in leukopenia, this number is much lower than the lower limit. The physical properties of leukocytes, such as volume, conductivity, and granularity, may change due to activation, the presence of immature cells, or the presence of malignant leukocytes in leukemia.

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