macrophages and encapsulated organism

[MudPhud20XX]

So both lymph nodes and spleen are secondary lymphatic organs that contain macrophages and you become vulnerable to encapsulated organisms w/o spleen.

Do you think macrophages in lymph nodes do the same removing encapsulated bacteria and you would also be vulnerable to encapsulated organisms when you lose a good amount of lymph nodes?

Many thanks in advance.

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[thinkbig]

I think thats impossible to lose ur lymph node...


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[notbobtrustme]

So both lymph nodes and spleen are secondary lymphatic organs that contain macrophages and you become vulnerable to encapsulated organisms w/o spleen.

Do you think macrophages in lymph nodes do the same removing encapsulated bacteria and you would also be vulnerable to encapsulated organisms when you lose a good amount of lymph nodes?

Many thanks in advance.

I'm 80% certain that removal of all your lymph nodes wouldn't be enough to impact immunity to encapsulated organisms. The spleen has many more immune cells than the lymph nodes.

 

[ChessMaster3000]

I'm 80% certain that removal of all your lymph nodes wouldn't be enough to impact immunity to encapsulated organisms. The spleen has many more immune cells than the lymph nodes.

agreed. good thought out of the box, but i would say the spleen has much more capacity than the lymph node system many times over

 

[sanj238]

So both lymph nodes and spleen are secondary lymphatic organs that contain macrophages and you become vulnerable to encapsulated organisms w/o spleen.

Do you think macrophages in lymph nodes do the same removing encapsulated bacteria and you would also be vulnerable to encapsulated organisms when you lose a good amount of lymph nodes?

Many thanks in advance.

The reason why spleen is important is because Spleen is predominantly IgM. Contrary to popular belief IgM is the STRONGEST at opsonization or enhancing macrophage destruction of encapsulated bacteria. This is because Igm has a pentamere structure with 2 valence in each segment for a total of 10 valence. Each valence is able to bind to a separate antigen (though all the antigens binding to an IgM must be the same type). In contrast, IgG is only divalent. IgG's importance is through secondary immune responses after first exposure. IgM is an immediate reaction against first time or multiple serotypical infections (pneumonia/influenza - constantly shifting antigens). Thus- the lack of high levels of IgM can predispose to acute infections in already compromised individuals- sickle cell anemia- salmonella, staph, strep pneumo, etc.
Please do not confuse this with Mac complex defects which are highly specific for Neisseria C5-C9.

Furthermore, the spleen has the white pulp and red pulp. The white is surrounded by a B cell heavy and T cell (perivascular) region. This area is particularly prone to slowing down not only defective RBCs but also White cells in the white pulp enhancing removal.

Patients with defective CD40 have hyper IgM and a preponderance of high levels outside of the Spleen of IgM. In general however, IgM levels are very high only in the spleen. It is for this reason also that the spleen is an important region to remove parenteral (IV) toxins and foreign bodies.

 

[MudPhud20XX]

Thank you all and special thank to sanj238 for the detailed explanation. That makes a lot more sense now! You guys are really helpful and smarter than me. I really appreciate your feedback. : )

 

[ketap]

The reason why spleen is important is because Spleen is predominantly IgM. Contrary to popular belief IgM is the STRONGEST at opsonization or enhancing macrophage destruction of encapsulated bacteria.

Sanj238: i am not sure..isn't the IgG the one who has greatest opsonization effect? and aren't the decrease of complement activation by IgM and also loss of filtering capacity of the spleen that cause a splenectomy patient to be vulnerable to encapsulated organism? thx

 

[sanj238]

Sanj238: i am not sure..isn't the IgG the one who has greatest opsonization effect? and aren't the decrease of complement activation by IgM and also loss of filtering capacity of the spleen that cause a splenectomy patient to be vulnerable to encapsulated organism? thx

IgG has the greatest activation of macrophages because it is the only one to do so- but IgM is a more effective overall at opsonizaiton due to its activation of complement system (stronger than IgG). The last sentence is true- which is why I said Spleen is important because it slows down the lymphocytes moving through it- loss of it leads to decreased ability for lymph to react with bacteria.