Immunity system complexity: adaptive immunity (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, March 14, 2020, 01:52 (1507 days ago) @ David Turell

A newborn is protected by the Mother's colostrum, if it nurses. Thereafter the newborn immune system must learn to know all the challenges by experiencing them, or by being vaccinated:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-03-principles-vertebrate-immunity.html

"All vertebrates, including humans, developed a very sophisticated self-protection device, the adaptive immune system. Specialized immune cells called T cells and B cells detect and destroy invading pathogens. One of its key features and its secret weapon is immunological memory. The cells remember infections leading to an even more efficient reaction to the same pathogen when re-exposed.

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"The scientists know that all vertebrates share the two lineages of T and B cells that are equipped with receptors capable of recognizing foreign structures, often referred to as antigens. Because the immune system has to distinguish between very different types of antigens, the structures of the receptors also vary; they are made up of similar but not identical building blocks that are produced in a random fashion during the development of T and B cells.

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"The CDA2 gene is of great interest to immunologists, because it is related to a gene, called AID, of jawed vertebrates that helps to refine the specificity of their antibodies. "It seems, that nature has chosen molecules from a shared tool-kit to support the formation of useful antibodies in both types of vertebrates."

Comment: this study is primarily one that looks at evolution and eh development of memory system that allows for the development of precise antibodies to attack intruders. The control of this process requires both functional information and specific instructions.