Bianca G.

Abarca NCM_112 (Immuno)

BSN 3-A

1. Is the immune system always protective?

No, our immune system is not always protective. There is what we call, “Hypersensitivity
reaction”, wherein it is an overreaction or aberrant response of the immune system to an antigen
or allergen. It is a harmful response to an antigen that does not stimulate an adaptive immune
response in most people. In allergic reactions, the antigen is called the allergen, and later
exposure to the allergen stimulates much the same processes that occur during a normal immune
response. The processes that eliminate the allergen, however, also produce undesirable side
effects such as a strong inflammatory reaction, which can be more harmful than beneficial.

2. When do you experience hypersensitivity reaction? On first exposure or the succeeding

exposures? Explain.
It usually does not occur with the first exposure to an allergen. Rather, the reaction
follows a re-exposure after sensitization, or buildup of antibodies, in a predisposed person. The
first time an antigen enters the body, it is picked up by antigen-presenting cells (such as
macrophages or dendritic cells) and taken to the nearest lymph node, where it is presented
to naïve T-cells. Cross-linking of the antigen with T-cells, as well as co-stimulatory molecules,
can lead to activation of that T-cell and subsequent differentiation into “primed” Th1, Th2, or
Th17 cells, which are specific to that antigen and can stimulate further immune responses if they
meet the antigen again. It is this second meeting that could result in a hypersensitivity reaction.