Immune Response Essay

Submitted By skatercik15
Words: 770
Pages: 4
Open Document
Immune Response

You awake one morning with a stuffy nose at first and throughout the day you start to experience body aches, headaches, coughing and a sore throat. Later you know you will go to the store and get medicine but you’re not too worried because hopefully you will be feeling better in a couple of days. What action is your body taking to get rid of this virus, and how did you even get it in the first place? A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of an organism, and you my friend, are an organism. You can pick up germs anywhere just the head of a pin has the capability to hold up to more than a million germs. Luckily though, we have an immune system which kills the virus.
The immune system has two levels of immunity. The first is called non-specific, also known as innate immunity. This protects the body against foreign material as small as microbes all the way to larger organisms like worms. These organisms are called pathogens when they cause a disease in the host. If a pathogen “breaks the barriers” so to say, white blood cells will surround it and neutralize it. The second level of immunity is specific. This helps the white blood cells if they are unable to stop the pathogen.
There are two types of white blood cells. These are called T and B cells and the human body has millions just for specific antigens. Antigens are a foreign material that triggers a response from the T and B cells. We usually think of antigens as part of microbes but you can receive them just by getting a blood transfusion that did not match your blood type.
B cells mature into plasma cells to produce a protein called an antibody. This protein is targeted to a particular antigen. However, B cells don’t work very well alone so it relies on T cells to provide a signal that they should begin the process of maturation. If the B cell is informed it recognizes the antigen it should respond to and divides to produce plasma cells. These plasma cells then secrete large number of antibodies which fight the antigens.
T cells are activated when the white blood cells display the antigen. T cells can also help release chemicals to help activate B cells, call in white cells for back up to destroy the microbes and even activate killer T cells. These killer T cells recognize the infected cells and destroy them. T cells then recognize that the threat has been removed, and then send out a signal for the rest of the cells to stop attacking.
Killer T cells can also produce memory cells, which remember a specific protein or antigen. The memory assures the body of familiar antigens or foreign agents that have been present in the body within the last few years. A response to an
Show More

Related Documents: Immune Response Essay

Tissue Immune Response Paper

our internal defenses are activated to try and protect us from infection. The inflammatory response goes into action to try and prevent the spread of harmful agents, dispose of pathogens and cell debris, and prepare for repairing of the tissue. In our tissues, we have macrophages, phagocytes, lymphocytes, basophils, and blood proteins. The macrophages have receptors that help trigger the immune response. The damaged tissue needs white blood cells to heal, which means that vascular alterations…

Words 165 - Pages 1

A&P 2 Lab Essays

Manual Pages 103-112 Relevant Websites to Help You with This Lab – Be sure to review these Websites before and during the completion of this Lab. • Antigen/Antibody Test Results • Human Anatomy Online : The Lymphatic System • Immune Response Animation • Lymph Node Animation Review Your Lab Summary: What were the most significant 2 or 3 concepts you learned while doing this Lab? Exercise 1: Microscopic Anatomy of Lymphatic Structures Questions: A. How are lymph, lymphatic…

Words 952 - Pages 4

Immune System and Haematopoietic Stem Cells Essays

The Immune System The immune system is the most incredible part of our body. It has the task of keeping the body healthy by destroying pathogens and disease-producing organisms, and by neutralizing their toxins. The immune system employs the services of the skin, mucous membranes, hair, cilia, saliva, urine and other natural means of waste disposal to keep the body free of illness and pathogens, For instance, should foreign bacteria enter the body, the immune system will employ…

Words 770 - Pages 4

Incompatible Matching Of Donor And Recipient Tissue Essay

molecules between the donor and the recipient usually results in activation of the immune responses. In this case, activated immune system attacks to the transplanted organ and tries to destroy it. Adaptive immunity is thought to be the main response exerted to transplanted tissue or organ. Adaptive immunity is mediated via B and T cells. T cells recognize antigens displayed on MHC molecules, and they trigger an immune response if the antigen on MHC molecule is recognized as foreign. If MHC molecules with…

Words 414 - Pages 2

Patient Without B-Lymphocytes Essay

A patient who lacks T lymphocytes is prone to all sorts of infections. T helper cells to are responsible for the coordination both humoral and cellular immune responses. If there is nothing to trigger your immune response the infection will invade and stay in an unhostile environment. Basically it will just be free living. A patient without B-lymphocytes is prone to those pathogens like bacteria, bacterial toxin, viruses, parasites, and fungi that are terminated best by antibodies.…

Words 781 - Pages 4

Tumor Immunology Research Paper

antigens that are recognized as foreign by the immune system of the tumor-bearing host. Immune responses normally fail to prevent the growth of tumors. The immune system can be activated by an external stimuli to effectively kill tumor cells and eradicate tumors. Immune responses frequently fail to prevent the growth of tumor. Tumor cells are derived from host cells, the rapid growth and spread of tumors and specialized mechanisms for evading host immune responses Tumor Antigen Tumor antigens are determinants…

Words 2442 - Pages 10

Bivalve Immune System: A Case Study

exposed to challenges and pathogens in the surrounding environment (Ben-Horin et al., 2015; Burge et al., 2016; Fisher et al., 2003; Harvell et al., 2004; Labreuche et al., 2006; Lelong et al., 2007). The bivalve immune system is complex and is comprised of both physical and biological immune components (Allam and Raftos, 2015). The first line of defense is the physical components of the oyster; this includes the shell, mucosal layer and skin (Allam and Raftos, 2015). The shell is critical as it provides…

Words 773 - Pages 4

Cd4 Supply Chain

Human immune responses are controlled by a myriad of cells and cell surface receptors. CD4 is a cell surface receptor found on T cells which both recruits and regulates immune response. When CD4 is knocked out, different processes and functions are found. IL-2 secretion is linked to CD4 and MHC II, linking CD4 and MHC II in immune responses. While important in T cell development, CD4 is not required to ensure proper haemopoiesis, and CD8 T cells can differentiate with CD4 present. CD4 is also integral…

Words 1869 - Pages 8

Pertussis Vaccines: A Case Study

an organism’s immune system so that they can begin to make the antibodies/antigens needed in order to protect their body from a future attack. When an organism is given a vaccine that vaccine enables an immune response that can occur when a more severe case of the microbe enters the body and because the organism was introduced to a weakened state of the microbe it has built and immunity or antibodies to fight off the more severe microbe. A vaccine makes it so that the organism’s immune system is able…

Words 1183 - Pages 5

Ocena Science Study Essay examples

attack from the body's immune system” and “Since the vaccine works by triggering an immune response, the method could even be used preventatively by building the body's immune resistance prior to infection.” 4. One question I have is are there any side effects that come with this method. Article One of the reasons cancer is so deadly is that it can evade attack from the body's immune system, which allows tumors to flourish and spread. Scientists can try to induce the immune system, known as immunotherapy…

Words 923 - Pages 4