This tag is for general questions related directly or indirectly to the vertebrate immune system, but are not questions directly related to Immunology, the discipline of the study of the immune system.
Questions tagged [immune-system]
194 questions
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Are cytotoxic (killer) T-cells always present or are they only produced during a cell mediated immune response?
The book I'm studying says the following
"During a cell mediated immune response, the release of IL-2 by helper T-cells is resposible for stimulating the production of Cytotoxic T-cells, which have receptors that match the anti-gen of the infecting…
Dahen
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Why is graft-vs-host so selective against phylogenetically close cells?
Is there a well established explanation for the phenomena that graft-vs-host is so much more selective against phylogenetically close cells? See historically significant references below,
"This type of aggression of the immune system is thus…
50cent
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How does the white blood cell ‘hunt’ the bacterium?
There's this mildly viral video which reportedly shows a white blood cell hunting a bacterium:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnlULOjUhSQ
What I don't understand is - at this scale, how does the white blood cell "know" to chase the bacterium and…
Vilx-
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The difference between Mast Cells and Basophils
While reading the Wikipedia article on Mast cells, I came across something that confused me. What is the major difference between a Mast Cell and Basophil?
They both seem to do the same exact function: triggering the inflammatory response. The only…
Hawkeye
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What is significance of opsonization?
Wikipedia says
Antibody opsonization is the process by which a pathogen is marked for ingestion and eliminated by a phagocyte. Opsonization involves the binding of an opsonin, e.g., antibody, to an epitope on an antigen. After opsonin binds to the…
AksaK
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Immune response to foreign protein
In the context of COVID-19, why is it possible to inject someone else’s antibody protein into a person without fear of stimulating an immune response. Does this indicate that, somehow, antibody conformation is universal?
Or rather ...
The immune…
adlibber
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Understanding transplant rejection - how does the cellular, adaptive, response get underway
This lay person is trying to get his head around the basic mechanisms of tissue rejection.
A lot of articles talk about T-cells being involve but I'm having difficulty following this. Human tissue is essentially similar between individuals. As I…
adlibber
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How are Antibody and T-cell receptor different?
Since the helper T-cell bonds with specific antigen presented by dendritic cell and that same helper T-cell also activates B-cell by bonding with antigen presented by B-cell, it made me think that the antigens presented by both of them should be…
Sandeep
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Why aren't all B cells memory B cells?
If we have a B cell for every possible type of antigen, why aren't all of them memory B cells? From my reading, I have deduced that memory B cells are effectively the better version of normal B cells, activating faster and being more effective,…
Avkash Panwar
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Why aren't all strongly self-recognizing T cells made into regulatory T cells?
Negative selection in T cell development is often simply described as preventing effector T cells from recognizing self-antigens. This is complicated by regulatory T cells developing from T cells with moderate affinity for self-antigens. If…
BatWannaBe
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The use of cytotoxic T-cells
The video below mentions whether the dendritic should call in a 'anti-virus force' or an 'army of bacteria killers'. The video goes on to talk about how bacteria is killed, using B-cells, but there's no mention of cytotoxic T-cells. Is the cytotoxic…
Dave
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Is there any antibody-forming immune system without immunological memory?
Is it possible for an immune system to exist that makes antibodies but does not possess any kind of immunological memory? If so, what examples are there?
differntial
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