Mononuclear cells 18th June 2022 – Tags: cells, mononuclear cell
Mononuclear cells, or Total Nuclear Cells, are mesenchymal stem cells involved in tissue regeneration and repair processes. They are primitive, non-specialised cells that have the ability to transform themselves into different types of cells in the body. Their function is to replace tissue damaged as a result of trauma or ageing.
What are mononuclear cells?
Circulating or tissue-resident mononuclear cells are activated by immune or complement complexes and produce a range of cytokines and chemokines that perpetuate the inflammatory response.
Several scientific and clinical studies have shown that when injected into a cartilage injury, they have great regenerative properties. In fact, they help to form new blood vessels and activate tissue repair thanks to macrophages.
Macrophages are mononuclear tissue cells that incorporate foreign particles and microorganisms into their cytoplasm to destroy them (phagocytosis). When an injury is present, they accumulate in the area to clean it and initiate the repair process.
The injection of TNCs polarises the macrophages and reverses the process from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory, i.e. it activates the reparative phase of the lesion.
Peripheral blood mononuclear cell
Peripheral mononuclear blood cells, PBMC for short, are single-nucleated cells of the blood with a round nucleus. These include lymphocytes and monocytes, which play important roles in the course of an immune response.
Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are isolated from peripheral blood and identified as any blood cell with a round nucleus (e.g. lymphocytes, monocytes, natural killer (NK) cells or dendritic cells).
Many cell types are involved in the maintenance of intestinal tissue. However, the main players are the epithelial lining cells and the immune system. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) are used to study the effect of dietary bioactives on various immune cells. These cells are easily isolated from the blood of healthy donors or from buffy coats (leukocyte concentrates, a by-product of hospital blood banks in the manufacture of red blood cells and thrombocyte concentrates from anticoagulated whole blood). PBMCs have a different composition, phenotype and activation state from cells found in intestinal tissue. However, it is a useful test system for studying the immunomodulatory effects of dietary bioactive compounds.
