How vaccines work:

Vaccines work by mimicking disease agents and stimulating the immune system to
build up defenses against them.
Response to vaccine: The immune system protects the body from pathogens, which
are agents that can cause disease. A Vaccine is like a pathogen imposter: it looks
like a certain bacteria or virus to the immune system but doesn!t make the body
sick.
"athogens are covered with molecules called Antigens that can trigger a speci#c
immune response. Vaccination e$poses the body to antigens that are similar to the
antigens found on a pathogen. %y posing as a speci#c pathogen, the vaccine primes
the immune system to respond with speed and strength if the body encounters the
pathogen in the future.
Response to Vaccine: &apture Antigen "resenting &ell 'A"&(: A"&!s roam the body
looking for invaders. )hen an A"& #nds the vaccine antigen, it ingests the invader,
breaks it apart, and displays a piece of the antigen on its surface.
T Helper &ell Activation: A"&!s displaying the antigen travel to areas where immune
cells cluster, such as lymph nodes. *a+ve T &ells speci#c to the antigen recogni,e it
as foreign and become activated. T Helper cells 'one type of active T &ells( alert
nearby cells to the presence of the invader.
% &ell Activation: *a+ve % &ells react to the vaccine antigen when it enters the body.
% &ells can recogni,e antigens displayed by A"&!s as well as antigens travelling
freely in the body. Active % &ells can undergo cell division, producing more active %
&ells that are speci#c to the vaccine antigen. -ome of these will mature into plasma
% &ells, and others will develop into memory % &ells.
% &ells mature into "lasma % &ells: After activation by the vaccine antigen and
receipt of signals from activated T helper cells, some % &ells transform into plasma
% &ells produce antibodies speci#c to the vaccine antigen.
"lasma % &ells secrete antibodies: . shaped proteins called antibodies are released
at high levels every second. The number of antibody types in the human body is in
the hundreds of millions, allowing for interaction and binding with a huge range of
antigens.
Antibodies bind to speci#c antigens: /ach antibody tightly attaches to one speci#c,
target antigen, similar to a lock and key. This action may prevent the antigen from
entering a cell or mark the antigen for destruction.
0iller T cell response: 1f the vaccine contains attenuated viruses, the vaccine viruses
enter cells. 0iller T cells #nd and destroy the invaded cells. *a+ve killer T cells
re2uire an A"& to display an antigen piece before they are activated.
Retention of 3emory cells: The goal of immuni,ation is to procure memory of the
vaccine antigen via a large population of memory cells. 1f the real pathogen enters
the body in the future, memory cells will recogni,e it. The body!s response will be
stronger and faster than if had never encountered the pathogen.
RESPONSE TO PATHOGEN:
Vaccination 4programs5 the immune system to remember a particular disease agent
by allowing it to 4practice5 on a weekend or killed version of the pathogen. This is
called a primary response to a pathogen.
1f the pathogen invades the body again in full strength, the immune system is ready
to respond with a swift and speci#c defense. This is called secondary response to a
pathogen. -econdary responses happen faster and at a greater magnitude than
primary responses, resulting in the creation of more antibodies to #ght the
pathogen and more memory cells to #ght it in the future.
1nfection: a pathogen enters the body. Antigen presenting cells 'A"&!s( ingest it,
displaying portions of the antigens on their surface.
Activation of memory cells: 3emory T &ells created during the vaccination process
encounters the A"&!s and recogni,e the antigen they are displaying. 3emory T
helper cells, similar to their counterparts in the vaccination process. )ill release
signals to alert other immune cells and encourage a response. "resence of the
pathogen will also reactivate memory % cells. 6ong living cells that react speci#cally
to a particular antigen.
3emory % &ells become Active "lasma cells: 3emory % &ells respond to the
presence of an antigen by activating and di7erentiating into plasma % cells. The
plasma % cells produce and secrete antibodies speci#c to the antigen that activated
them. However, in the secondary response, the plasma cells produce more
antibodies and at a faster rate than in the primary response.
Antibodies Attack the "athogen: The antibodies bind to the surface of the
pathogen. This can have a number of di7erent e7ects depending on the pathogen
and the types of antibodies produced against it, it may prevent the pathogen from
entering a cell or mark it for removal or destruction by other cells of the immune
system.
0iller T &ells: 1f the vaccination process induced a killer T cell response, then
memory cells of that type will persist and be activated by e$posure to the antigen.
1nducing a killer T cell response during vaccination is helpful, because when
reactivated, memory killer T cells will 2uickly seek out infected cell and destroy
them, preventing the spread of the infection.
Antibodies Attack the "athogen: The antibodies bind to the surface of the pathogen,
this can have a number of di7erent e7ects depending on the pathogen and the
types of antibodies produced against it: it may prevent the pathogen from entering
a cell or mark it for removal or destruction by other cells of the immune system.
0iller T cell respond: 1f vaccination process induce a 0iller T cells response, then
memory cells of that type will persist and be activated by e$posure to the antigen.
1nducing a killer T cells response during vaccination is helpful , because when
reactivated, memory killer T cells will 2uickly seek out infected cells and destroy
them, preventing the spread of the infection.
Retention of 3emory &ells: The invading pathogen has been stopped. As with the
original vaccination. -ome memory % and T cells remain to guard against any future
attacks by the same pathogen. 3emory cells can persist in an individual!s body for
decades.
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