Jun
17
Written by:
Emily Sherman
6/17/2010 1:57 PM
The Science Of Life Blog – Your Immune System
This is the first in a series on the human body and the science behind disease. The goal will be to reveal how the body works and reveal some of the misconceptions about the body and disease. Sit back, and enjoy the read…
Immune system basics:
Why is it that some people get over sicknesses fast, while others suffer more and for longer? How is it that our bodies are able to eliminate viral and bacterial infections, sometimes without our ever knowing we are sick? The answer can be found in our immune system.
Definitions:
Pathogen: any disease-causing agent, such as a virus, bacterium, or other microorganism
Antibody: a protein made by the immune system that helps disable pathogens.
Our immune system is a system of biological structures and processes that protects us against disease by identifying and killing harmful pathogens and cancer cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from our own healthy cells and tissues in order to function properly. If the Immune system fails to differentiate between pathogens and our own cells and attacks the body’s own tissues, that is called an autoimmune response (ex: Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Celiac).
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Detection of pathogens by the immune system is complicated since pathogens can evolve rapidly, producing adaptations that avoid the immune system and allow the pathogens to successfully infect their hosts. The immune system uses two broad techniques to achieve this detection: innate immunity and acquired immunity.
Innate Immunity is the body’s ability to react to a previously unencountered pathogen using immune system structures that bind to anything that is similar to the general structure of pathogens. In other words, our immune system naturally knows what a bacterium looks like, and it will attack anything that has that general structure. This process is completed using what are called Complements and Inflammatory responses.
Acquired Immunity is the body’s ability to develop structures that remember past infections, and to respond to future attacks by similar infections. Thus, a person who had mumps as a child, or had a mumps vaccination, will develop immune structures (antibodies) in their blood (during what’s called the primary response) that will protect them from getting mumps again (called the secondary response). This process is completed using what are called white blood cells and antibodies.
Stay tuned as we continue to delve into the complexities of the immune system in later entries.