Acquired Immune Response in Vertebrates
Acquired Immune Response in Vertebrates
The specialized system of nonself recognition possessed by vertebrates results in increased resistance to specific foreign substances or invaders on repeated exposures. Investigations on the mechanisms involved are currently intense, and our knowledge of them is increasing rapidly.
The immune response is stimulated by a specific foreign substance called an antigen, and, circularly, an antigen is any substance that will stimulate an immune response. Antigens may be any of a variety of substances with a molecular weight of over 3000. They are most commonly proteins and are usually (but not always) foreign to the host. The immune response has two arms, known as humoral and cellular. Humoral immunity is based on antibodies, which are both on cell surfaces and dissolved in blood and lymph, whereas cellular immunity is entirely associated with cell surfaces. There is extensive communication and interaction among cells of the two arms.
The specialized system of nonself recognition possessed by vertebrates results in increased resistance to specific foreign substances or invaders on repeated exposures. Investigations on the mechanisms involved are currently intense, and our knowledge of them is increasing rapidly.
The immune response is stimulated by a specific foreign substance called an antigen, and, circularly, an antigen is any substance that will stimulate an immune response. Antigens may be any of a variety of substances with a molecular weight of over 3000. They are most commonly proteins and are usually (but not always) foreign to the host. The immune response has two arms, known as humoral and cellular. Humoral immunity is based on antibodies, which are both on cell surfaces and dissolved in blood and lymph, whereas cellular immunity is entirely associated with cell surfaces. There is extensive communication and interaction among cells of the two arms.
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