Monocytes and macrophages belong to the mononuclear phagocyte system and play important roles in both physiological and pathological processes. The cells belonging to the monocyte/macrophage system are structurally and functionally heterogeneous. Several subsets of monocytes have been previously identified in mammalian blood, generating different subpopulations of macrophages in tissues. Although their distribution and phenotype are similar to their human counterpart, bovine monocytes and macrophages feature differences in both functions and purification procedures. The specific roles that monocytes and macrophages fulfil in several important diseases of bovine species, including among the others tuberculosis and paratuberculosis, brucellosis or the disease related to peripartum, remain still partially elusive. The purpose of this review is to discuss the current knowledge of bovine monocytes and macrophages. We will describe methods for their purification and characterization of their major functions, including chemotaxis, phagocytosis and killing, oxidative burst, apoptosis and necrosis. An overview of the flow cytometry and morphological procedures, including cytology, histology and immunohistochemistry, that are currently utilized to describe monocyte and macrophage main populations and functions is presented as well.

中文翻译：

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牛单核细胞和巨噬细胞的分离和表征方法

单核细胞和巨噬细胞属于单核吞噬细胞系统，在生理和病理过程中都发挥着重要作用。属于单核细胞/巨噬细胞系统的细胞在结构和功能上都是异质的。先前已在哺乳动物血液中鉴定出几个单核细胞亚群，在组织中产生不同的巨噬细胞亚群。尽管它们的分布和表型与人类对应物相似，但牛单核细胞和巨噬细胞在功能和纯化程序方面都存在差异。单核细胞和巨噬细胞在牛的几种重要疾病中发挥的具体作用，包括肺结核和副结核病、布鲁氏菌病或与围产期相关的疾病，仍然部分难以捉摸。本综述的目的是讨论牛单核细胞和巨噬细胞的当前知识。我们将描述它们的纯化方法和它们主要功能的表征，包括趋化性、吞噬作用和杀伤作用、氧化爆发、细胞凋亡和坏死。还介绍了目前用于描述单核细胞和巨噬细胞主要种群和功能的流式细胞术和形态学程序的概述，包括细胞学、组织学和免疫组织化学。