What is another term for macrophages?

What is another term for macrophages?

• A. Antigen-Presenting Cells
• B. Killer Cells
• C. Null Cells
• D. Plasma Cells

Answer: (A)

Macrophages function as antigen-presenting cells. They eat and digest pathogens and then display peptide fragments on MHC class II molecules to helper T cells, which helps activate the adaptive immune response. This presenting role is what defines them as APCs, linking innate phagocytosis with T-cell–mediated immunity. The other terms don’t fit as well: killer cells refer to cytotoxic cells that destroy infected or abnormal cells; null cells is an older, vague label for lymphocytes lacking typical markers; plasma cells are B cells that produce antibodies. So the term antigen-presenting cells best describes macrophages.

Macrophages function as antigen-presenting cells. They eat and digest pathogens and then display peptide fragments on MHC class II molecules to helper T cells, which helps activate the adaptive immune response. This presenting role is what defines them as APCs, linking innate phagocytosis with T-cell–mediated immunity. The other terms don’t fit as well: killer cells refer to cytotoxic cells that destroy infected or abnormal cells; null cells is an older, vague label for lymphocytes lacking typical markers; plasma cells are B cells that produce antibodies. So the term antigen-presenting cells best describes macrophages.