Skip to main content

Macrophage

Meaning

A large, specialized cell belonging to the innate immune system, whose primary and vital function is to engulf and digest cellular debris, pathogens, cancer cells, and any foreign material through the process of phagocytosis. These versatile cells are critical sentinels found in nearly all tissues, where they are known by various names, such as Kupffer cells in the liver or microglia in the brain. In the context of hormonal health and metabolism, macrophages play a dual and critical role, initiating inflammation in adipose tissue during obesity but also resolving inflammation to maintain tissue homeostasis.