#macrophages

• Bacteriopexiatic — Serving to fix or retain bacteria; relating to the capacity of certain cells or tissues to capture and immobilize prokaryotic microorganisms in order to neutralize them. Physiologically, bacteriopexiatic properties are specific to macrophages and cells of the reticuloendothelial system (such as Kupffer cells in the liver), representing a first defensive barrier prior to the enzymatic destruction of the pathogen.
• Bacteriopexy — A biological phenomenon consisting of the fixation, capture, or retention of bacteria by certain cells (especially macrophages and histiocytes) or organs with phagocytic roles, without them necessarily being destroyed immediately. In an immune sense, bacteriopexy represents an essential clearing stage of blood and lymphatic flows, whereby the body temporarily isolates infectious foci and prevents systemic dissemination of microbes.
• Bacteriotropin — A specific antibody substance (or modified opsonin) present in immune serum, capable of binding to the surface of bacteria to modify their cell wall, making them far more susceptible to phagocytosis by leukocytes. Biochemically, bacteriotropins act as marking and activating elements of the cellular defense system, enhancing the capacity of macrophages to recognize and destroy pathogens.