Leukocytes usually ingest microbes and digest them. This is the first thing they do.
Then the leukocytes can pour caustic chemicals around themselves, which will scald the infection. In this case, our native cells also come under attack. This chemistry also hurts them.
And now it turns out that leukocytes have a third way to fight all kinds of evil spirits. It is called "netoz". Or in English NETosis (Neutrophil extracellular traps), which translates as "neutrophil traps".
In the story about hormones and leukocytes, we have already discussed programmed death of leukocytes. Netosis is also a type of leukocyte death that our body needs.
Suppose that in the unequal struggle against microbes, our leukocytes were devoured by enemies, shot down the entire ammunition stock of poisonous chemicals and died. But in the end, leukocytes eject from themselves a trap net, which consists of DNA and various additives.
That is, at some point, the leukocyte takes its own chromosomes, processes them with special enzymes, and the chromosomes unwind like balls of yarn.
From the compact X-shaped things that we saw in school textbooks, chromosomes turn into a messy skein of DNA strands. All this economy swells, grows, destroys the nucleus of the leukocyte, breaks through its membrane and falls out.
It is clear that the leukocyte is dying from this, but everything around it will be hung with bunches of DNA strands mixed with different proteins and enzymes.
It's like a minefield for microbes. Bacteria and fungi get entangled in such traps, various proteins and enzymes chemically scald microbes, and it turns out that leukocytes, even after death, can contain the infection.
Not only every little thing gets entangled in neutrophil traps, but also malaria plasmodia, which are quite large unicellular animals in themselves.
It is also very important that such a network with enzymes and proteins does not spread out in all directions and does not harm our own cells. This trap will hang in its place for a long time, catch uninvited guests and scald them with chemistry.
In addition to suicidal netosis, leukocytes have another variant of an intravital one. That is, they do not explode, but very carefully burp out bubbles from their DNA.
At the same time, the leukocytes themselves turn into undead, which retains the ability to swim and eat enemies. Just like a zombie.
Netosis refers to the so-called innate immunity. He's brutal and stupid. Neutrophil traps are powerful, but if you scatter your own DNA around you, there is a chance that our own antibodies will develop on it. So the fight against infection can end up with an autoimmune disease.
These are the passions that scientists saw through microscopes.
