AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Neutrophils provide the first line of defense of the innate immune system by phagocytosing, killing, and digesting bacteria and fungi.

Detailed explanation-2: -Neutrophils are the most abundant white blood cell in humans and arise from granulocytes. They are also phagocytic in nature, and Metchnikoff called neutrophils the “archetypal phagocyte”. Neutrophils are the first immune cells to be recruited, which can be through the cytokines produced by macrophages.

Detailed explanation-3: -Phagocytosis. The ability of neutrophils to ingest and subsequently kill invading microbes is essential for the maintenance of host health. Neutrophils remove bacterial and fungal pathogens through a process known as phagocytosis.

Detailed explanation-4: -They capture and destroy invading microorganisms, through phagocytosis and intracellular degradation, release of granules, and formation of neutrophil extracellular traps after detecting pathogens. Neutrophils also participate as mediators of inflammation.

Detailed explanation-5: -Phagocytosis is central to the microbicidal function of neutrophils. Pathogens are initially engulfed into a plasma membrane-derived vacuole, the phagosome, which proceeds to acquire degradative properties by a complex process termed maturation.