Loading [MathJax]/extensions/TeX/newcommand.js
Skip to main content
Library homepage
 

Text Color

Text Size

 

Margin Size

 

Font Type

Enable Dyslexic Font
Biology LibreTexts

23: Adaptive Immunity II

\newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } 

\newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}}

\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}} \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}

( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}

\newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}} \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}

\newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}} \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}

\newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}

\newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}

\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}

\newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}

\newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}

\newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}

\newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}

\newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}

\newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}

\newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}

\newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}

\newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}} \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}

\newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}}      % arrow

\newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}}      % arrow

\newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } 

\newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} 

\newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} 

\newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} 

\newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}}

\newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } 

\newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}}

\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a} \newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b} \newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c} \newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d} \newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}} \newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e} \newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f} \newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n} \newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p} \newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q} \newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s} \newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t} \newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u} \newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v} \newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w} \newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x} \newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y} \newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z} \newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r} \newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m} \newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0} \newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1} \newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R} \newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]} \newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]} \newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]} \newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]} \newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]} \newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]} \newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]} \newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]} \newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]} \newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}} \newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B} \newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C} \newcommand{\scal}{\cal S} \newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W} \newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E} \newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}} \newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}} \newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}} \newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}} \newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}} \newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}} \renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}} \newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}} \newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}} \newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}} \newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|} \newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}} \newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}} \newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp} \newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}} \newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}} \newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}} \newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}} \newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}} \newcommand{\lt}{<} \newcommand{\gt}{>} \newcommand{\amp}{&} \definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}

People living in developed nations and born in the 1960s or later may have difficulty understanding the once heavy burden of devastating infectious diseases. For example, smallpox, a deadly viral disease, once destroyed entire civilizations but has since been eradicated. Thanks to the vaccination efforts by multiple groups, including the World Health Organization, Rotary International, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), smallpox has not been diagnosed in a patient since 1977. Polio is another excellent example. This crippling viral disease paralyzed patients, who were often kept alive in “iron lung wards” as recently as the 1950s (Figure \PageIndex{1}). Today, vaccination against polio has nearly eradicated the disease. Vaccines have also reduced the prevalence of once-common infectious diseases such as chickenpox, German measles, measles, mumps, and whooping cough. The success of these and other vaccines is due to the very specific and adaptive host defenses that are the focus of this chapter.

Innate Nonspecific Host Defenses described innate immunity against microbial pathogens. Higher animals, such as humans, also possess an adaptive immune defense, which is highly specific for individual microbial pathogens. This specific adaptive immunity is acquired through active infection or vaccination and serves as an important defense against pathogens that evade the defenses of innate immunity.

Photo of a room full of patients in large chambers that cover their entire bodies.
Figure \PageIndex{1}: Polio was once a common disease with potentially serious consequences, including paralysis. Vaccination has all but eliminated the disease from most countries around the world. An iron-lung ward, such as the one shown in this 1953 photograph, housed patients paralyzed from polio and unable to breathe for themselves.

  • 23.1: T Lymphocytes - Overview
    The antibodies involved in humoral immunity often bind pathogens and toxins before they can attach to and invade host cells. Thus, humoral immunity is primarily concerned with fighting pathogens in extracellular spaces. However, pathogens that have already gained entry to host cells are largely protected from the humoral antibody-mediated defenses. Cellular immunity, on the other hand, targets and eliminates intracellular pathogens through the actions of T lymphocytes, or T cells.
  • 23.2: T-Cell Receptors (TCR) and Helper T Cells
    The antibodies involved in humoral immunity often bind pathogens and toxins before they can attach to and invade host cells. Thus, humoral immunity is primarily concerned with fighting pathogens in extracellular spaces. However, pathogens that have already gained entry to host cells are largely protected from the humoral antibody-mediated defenses. Cellular immunity, on the other hand, targets and eliminates intracellular pathogens through the actions of T lymphocytes, or T cells.
  • 23.3: Cytotoxic T Cells and Superantigens
    The antibodies involved in humoral immunity often bind pathogens and toxins before they can attach to and invade host cells. Thus, humoral immunity is primarily concerned with fighting pathogens in extracellular spaces. However, pathogens that have already gained entry to host cells are largely protected from the humoral antibody-mediated defenses. Cellular immunity, on the other hand, targets and eliminates intracellular pathogens through the actions of T lymphocytes, or T cells.
  • 23.4: B Lymphocytes and Antibodies
    Humoral immunity refers to mechanisms of the adaptive immune defenses that are mediated by antibodies secreted by B lymphocytes, or B cells. This section will focus on B cells and discuss their production and maturation, receptors, and mechanisms of activation.
  • 23.5: B Cell Activation
    Humoral immunity refers to mechanisms of the adaptive immune defenses that are mediated by antibodies secreted by B lymphocytes, or B cells. This section will focus on B cells and discuss their production and maturation, receptors, and mechanisms of activation.
  • 23.6: Vaccines
    By artificially stimulating the adaptive immune defenses, a vaccine triggers memory cell production similar to that which would occur during a primary response. In so doing, the patient is able to mount a strong secondary response upon exposure to the pathogen—but without having to first suffer through an initial infection. In this section, we will explore several different kinds of artificial immunity along with various types of vaccines and their mechanisms for inducing artificial immunity.
  • 23.7: Variolation and Vaccination
    By artificially stimulating the adaptive immune defenses, a vaccine triggers memory cell production similar to that which would occur during a primary response. In so doing, the patient is able to mount a strong secondary response upon exposure to the pathogen—but without having to first suffer through an initial infection. In this section, we will explore several different kinds of artificial immunity along with various types of vaccines and their mechanisms for inducing artificial immunity.
  • 23.8: Classes of Vaccines
    By artificially stimulating the adaptive immune defenses, a vaccine triggers memory cell production similar to that which would occur during a primary response. In so doing, the patient is able to mount a strong secondary response upon exposure to the pathogen—but without having to first suffer through an initial infection. In this section, we will explore several different kinds of artificial immunity along with various types of vaccines and their mechanisms for inducing artificial immunity.
  • 23.E: Adaptive Immunity II (Exercises)

Thumbnail: From left to right: erythrocyte, platelet and lymphocyte. (Public Domain; The National Cancer Institute at Frederick).


This page titled 23: Adaptive Immunity II is shared under a Public Domain license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ying Liu via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

Support Center

How can we help?