‫احمد حمد احمد محمد‬

Immune responses

immune responses are the two major components of the acquired immune response.
Its
components are principally the B lymphocytes (B cells) and the T lymphocytes (T
cells), and their interaction is required for a successful response. These lymphocytes
express highly specific antigen receptors on their surface in a clonally restricted
manner such that each lymphocyte bears fine specificity for a given structural motif.
The antigen-specific receptor present on the surface of B cells is the
immunoglobulin (Ig) molecule in its membrane-bound form. When a B cell
encounters an antigen that interacts with its surface immunoglobulin, provided it
receives the necessary T cell signals, it proliferates and differentiates through several
generations into immunoglobulin-secreting plasma cells and memory cells. Antigen-
specific immunoglobulins or antibodies detected in the serum or other bodily fluids
are indicative of antigenic encounter and an immune response. Monomeric antibody
molecules, comprising two identical heavy chains (α, δ, γ, ϵ or μ) and two identical
light chains (κ or λ), can be described functionally as having a ‘Y’ shape. Sequences
in the arm are highly variable among molecules and form two identical antigen-
binding sites. The stem of the ‘Y’, or constant region, contains more conserved
sequences and endows the five distinct antibody classes (IgA, IgD, IgG, IgE and IgM)
with functional properties. During an immune response, the first class of antigen-
specific antibody detected in the serum is the pentameric IgM molecule, but a switch
then occurs to IgG, IgA or IgE. In T cell-dependent antibody responses, switching is
accomplished in conjunction with T cell and cytokine signaling.
The functions of the humoral or antibody response include neutralization of a
pathogen and/or its toxic products by antibody binding, to prevent infection or toxic
damage, respectively. Additionally, antibody can act as an ‘opsonin’ to facilitate the
phagocytosis of pathogens by macrophages, which in turn present parts of the
microbe to specific lymphocytes. A third function is activation of the complement
cascade. Complement is a group of plasma proteins that bind to antigen–antibody
complexes, enhancing opsonization or, in some cases, directly killing the bacterium
or the infected cell.
T cells also respond to stimulation of their unique antigen receptors (T cell receptor,
TCR) by proliferating, differentiating and secreting cytokines. The majority of T cells
express a TCR composed of an α and a β chain, while a minority of cells express a
heterodimer of γ and δ chains. Unlike B cells, T cells cannot recognize native
antigens but require short peptides derived from them to be displayed on the surface
of an APC in association with molecules of the major histocompatibility
complex (MHC). Dendritic cells, macrophages and activated B cells are professional
APCs which capture antigen by endocytosis, then digest or process the antigen so
that it can be placed within a binding groove in MHC class II molecules for
presentation to T helper cells (TH) carrying the CD4 coreceptor which contacts an
invariant region of the class II molecule.
The other type of MHC molecule, the class I, is present on all nucleated cells and
binds peptides from endogenous self proteins and intracellular pathogens, such as
viruses and some bacteria. Destruction of such pathogens is accomplished through
killing the host cell by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). Cytotoxic T cells that
recognize peptides in association with MHC class I molecules bear the CD8 molecule
on their surface, which acts as a coreceptor and contacts an invariant region of the
class I molecules