Home > B. Cellular pathology > microbial killing
microbial killing
Sunday 12 February 2006
Killing and Degradation
The ultimate step of bacterial phagocytosis in the elimination of infectious agents and necrotic cells is their killing and degradation within neutrophils and macrophages, which occur most efficiently after activation of the phagocytes.
Microbial killing is accomplished largely by oxygen-dependent mechanisms. Phagocytosis stimulates a burst in oxygen consumption, glycogenolysis, increased glucose oxidation via the hexose-monophosphate shunt, and production of reactive oxygen intermediates (ROS, also called reactive oxygen species).
See also
viral killing
bacterial killing
parasitic killing
