Functional Anatomy and Physiology

Lymphatic System and Immune System

(Principles of Anatomy and Physiology 13th Edition)

Slide created by Nawal Rabbani

 Lymphatic System
• The lymphatic system contributes to homeostasis by draining interstitial fluid as well as
providing the mechanisms for defense against diseases
• The lymphatic system consists of a fluid called lymph, vessels called lymphatic vessels that
transport the lymph, a number of structures and organs containing lymphatic tissue
(lymphocytes within a filtering tissue), and red bone marrow.
• The lymphatic system assists in circulating body fluids and helps defend the body against
disease-causing agents.
Lymph:
• Most components of blood plasma filter through blood capillary walls to form interstitial
fluid.
• After interstitial fluid passes into lymphatic vessels, it is called lymph.
 Lymphatic System
Lymph:
• The major difference between interstitial fluid and lymph is of location, interstitial fluid is
found between cells, and lymph is located within lymphatic vessels and lymphatic tissue
Lymph Vessels:
• Lymphatic vessels begin as lymphatic capillaries. There capillaries, which are located in
the spaces between cells, are closed at one end.
• Just as blood capillaries converge to from venules and the veins, lymphatic capillaries unite
to form larger lymphatic vessels, which resemble small veins in structure but have thinner
walls and more valve.
 Lymphatic System
Lymph Vessels:
• At intervals along the lymphatic vessels, lymph flows through lymph nodes, encapsulated
bean-shaped organs consisting of masses of B cells and T cells.
• In the skin, lymphatic vessels lie in the subcutaneous tissue and generally follow the same
route as veins; lymphatic vessels of the viscera generally follow arteries, forming plexuses
(networks) around them.
• Tissue that lack lymph capillaries include avascular tissues (such as cartilage, the epidermis,
and the cornea of the eye), the central nervous system, portions of the spleen, and red bone
marrow.
 Lymphatic System
Lymph Capillaries:
• They have greater permeability than blood capillaries and thus can absorb large molecules
such as proteins and lipids.
• Lymphatic capillaries are also slightly larger in diameter than blood capillaries and have a
unique one way structure that permits interstitial fluid to flow into them but not out.
• In small intestine, specialized lymphatic capillaries called lacteals carry dietary lipids into
lymphatic vessels and ultimately into the blood.
• The presence of these lipids causes the lymph draining from the small intestine to appear
creamy white; such lymph is referred to as chyle. Elsewhere, lymph is clear, pale-yellow
fluid.
 Lymphatic System
Lymph Trunks:
• As lymphatic vessels exit lymph nodes in a particular region of the body, they unite to form
lymph trunks.
• The principal trunks are the lumbar, intestinal, Broncho-mediastinal, subclavian and jugular
trunks.
• The lumbar trunk drain lymph from the lower limbs, the wall and viscera of the pelvis, the
kidneys, the adrenal glands and the abdominal wall.
• The intestinal trunk drains lymph from the stomach, intestines, pancreas, spleen and part of
the liver.
 Lymphatic System
Lymph Trunks:
• The Broncho-mediastinal trunks drain lymph from the thoracic wall, lung and heart.
• The subclavian trunks drain the upper limbs.
• The jugular trunks drain the head and neck.
• Lymph passes from lymph trunks into two main channels, the thoracic duct and the right
lymphatic duct, and then drain into venous blood.
• The thoracic (left lymphatic) duct is about 38-45cm long and begins as a dilation called the
cisterna chyli anterior to the second lumbar vertebra.
 Lymphatic System
Lymph Trunks:
• The thoracic duct is the main duct for the return of lymph to blood.
• The cisterna chyli receives lymph from the right and left lumbar trunks and from the
intestinal trunk.
• In the neck, the thoracic duct also receive lymph from the left jugular, left subclavian and
left Broncho-mediastinal trunks. Therefore, the thoracic duct receives lymph from the left
side of the head, neck, chest, the left upper limb and the entire body inferior to the ribs
• The thoracic duct in turn drains the lymph into venous blood at the junction of the left
internal jugular and left subclavian veins.
 Lymphatic System
Lymph Trunks:
• The right lymphatic duct is about 1.2cm long and receives lymph from the right jugular,
right subclavian and right Broncho-mediastinal trunks. Thus, the right lymphatic duct
receives lymph from the upper right side of the body.
• From the right lymphatic duct, lymph drains into venous blood at the junction of the right
internal jugular and right subclavian veins.
 Lymphatic System
Lymph Nodes:
• Located along lymphatic vessels are about 600 bean-shaped lymph nodes.
• They are scattered throughout the body, both superficially and deep, and usually occur in
groups.
• Large groups of lymph nodes are present near the mammary glands and in the axilla and
groin.
• They are 1-25mm long and are covered by capsule of dense connective tissue that extends
into the node.
• The capsular extensions, called trabeculae, divide the node into compartments provide
support, and provide a route for blood vessels into the interior of a node.
 Lymphatic System
Lymph Nodes:
• Internal to the capsule is a supporting network of reticular fibers and fibroblasts.
• The capsule, trabeculae, reticular fibers and fibroblasts constitute the stroma of a lymph
node.
• The parenchyma of a lymph node is divided into a superficial cortex and a deep medulla.
The cortex consists of an outer cortex and an inner cortex.
• Within the outer cortex are egg-shaped aggregates of B cells called lymphatic nodules.
• A lymphatic nodule consisting chiefly of B cells is called a primary lymphatic nodule.
• Most lymphatic nodules in the outer cortex are secondary lymphatic nodules, which form in
response to an antigen and are sites of plasma cell and memory B cell formation.
 Lymphatic System
Lymph Nodes:
• After B cells in a primary lymphatic nodule recognize an antigen, the primary lymphatic
nodule develops into a secondary lymphatic nodule.
• The center of a secondary lymphatic nodule contains a region of light-staining cells called a
germinal center.
• In the germinal center are B cells, follicular dendritic cells and macrophages. When
follicular dendritic cells “present” an antigen, B cells proliferate and develop into antibody-
producing plasma cells or develop into memory B cells.
• Memory B cells persist after an initial immune response and “remember” having
encountered a specific antigen.
 Lymphatic System
Lymph Nodes:
• B cells that do not develop properly undergo apoptosis and are destroyed by macrophages.
• The region of a secondary lymphatic nodule surrounding the germinal center is composed of
dense accumulations of B cells that have migrated away from their site of origin within the
nodule.
• The inner cortex does not contains lymphatic nodules. It consists mainly of T cells and
dendritic cells that enter a lymph node from other tissues.
• The dendritic cells present antigens to T cells, causing their proliferation. They newly
formed T cells then migrate from the lymph node to areas of the body where there is
antigenic activity.
 Lymphatic System
Lymph Nodes:
• The medulla of a lymph node contains B cells, antibody producing plasma cells that have
migrated out of the cortex into the medulla, and macrophages.
• The various cells are embedded in a network of reticular fibers and reticular cells.
• Lymph flows through a node in one direction only. It enters through several afferent
lymphatic vessels, which penetrate the convex surface of the node at several points.
• The afferent vessels contain valves that open toward the center of the node, directing the
lymph inward.
• Within the lymph node, lymph enters sinuses, a series of irregular channels that contain
branching reticular fibers, lymphocytes and macrophages.
 Lymphatic System
Lymph Nodes:
• From the afferent lymphatic vessels, lymph flows into the subcapsular sinus, immediately
beneath the capsule.
• From here the lymph flows through trabecular sinuses, which extend through the cortex
parallel to the trabeculae, and into medullary sinuses, which extend through the medulla.
• The medullary sinuses drain into one or two efferent lymphatic vessels, which are wider
and fewer in number than afferent vessels.
• They contain valves that open away from the center of the lymph node to convey lymph,
antibodies secreted by plasma cells, and activated T cells out of the node.
 Lymphatic System
Lymph Nodes:
• Efferent lymphatic vessels emerge from one side of the lymph node at a slight depression
called a hilum or hilus.
• Blood vessels also enter and leave the node at the hilum.
• Lymph nodes function as a type of filter. As lymph enter one end of a lymph node, foreign
substances are trapped by the reticular fibers within the sinuses of the node.
• Then macrophages destroy some foreign substances by phagocytosis, while lymphocytes
destroy others by immune responses.
• The filtered lymph then leaves the other end of the lymph node.
 Lymphatic System
Lymph Nodes:
• Since there are many afferent lymphatic vessels that bring lymph into a lymph node and only
one or two efferent lymphatic vessels that transport lymph out of a lymph node, the slow
flow of lymph within the lymph nodes allow additional time for lymph to be filtered.
• Additionally, all lymph flows through multiple lymph nodes on its path through the lymph
vessels. This exposes the lymph to multiple filtering events before returning to the blood.
 Immune System
Body Defense System and its Regulation:
• The ability of an organism to resist a particular infection or toxin is called immunity.
• The branch of science that deals with the responses of the body when challenged by antigens
is called immunology.
• Immune system includes cells and tissues that carry out immune responses.
• There are two major types of immunity:
1. Innate Immunity
2. Adaptive Immunity
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
• Innate immunity includes the external physical and chemical barriers provided by the skin
and mucous membranes.
• It also includes various internal defenses, such as antimicrobial substances, natural killer
cells, phagocytes, inflammation and fever.
(i) First Line of Defense:
• The skin and mucous membranes of the body are the first line of defense against pathogens.
• These structures provide both physical and chemical barriers that discourage pathogens and
foreign substances from penetrating the body and causing disease.
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
(i) First Line of Defense:
• With its many layers of closely packed, keratinized cells, the outer epithelial layer of the
skin – the epidermis – provides a formidable physical barrier to the entrance of microbes.
• If the surface is broken by cuts, burns, or punctures, however, pathogens can penetrate the
epidermis and invade adjacent tissues or circulate in the blood to other parts of the body.
• The epithelial layer of mucous membrane, which line body cavities, secretes a fluid called
mucus that lubricates and moistens the cavity surface. Because mucus is slightly viscous, it
traps many microbes and foreign substances.
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
(i) First Line of Defense:
• The mucous membrane of the nose has mucus-coated hairs that trap and filter microbes,
dust and pollutants from inhaled air.
• The mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract contains cilia, microscopic hair-like
projections on the surface of the epithelial cells. The waving action of cilia propels inhaled
dust and microbes that have become trapped in mucus toward the throat.
• Coughing and sneezing accelerate movement of mucus and its entrapped pathogens out of
the body. Swallowing mucus sends pathogens to the stomach, where gastric juice destroys
them.
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
(i) First Line of Defense:
• Other fluids produced by various organs also help protect epithelial surfaces of the skin and
mucous membranes. The lacrimal apparatus of the eyes manufactures and drains away
tears in response to irritants.
• Blinking spreads tears over the surface of the eyeball, and the continual washing action of
tears helps to dilute microbes and keep them from settling on the surface of the eye.
• Tears also contain lysozyme, an enzyme capable of breaking down the cell walls of certain
bacteria. Besides tears, lysozyme is present in saliva, perspiration, nasal secretions and
tissue fluids.
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
(i) First Line of Defense:
• Saliva, produced by the salivary glands, washes microbes from the surfaces of the teeth
and from the mucous membrane of the mouth, much as tears wash the eyes. The flow of
saliva reduces colonization of the mouth by microbes.
• The cleansing of the urethra by the flow of urine retards microbial colonization of the
urinary system.
• Vaginal secretions likewise move microbes out of the body in females. Also because of
slightly acidic nature it discourages bacterial growth.
• Defecation and vomiting also expel microbes.
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
(i) First Line of Defense:
• Sebaceous (oil) glands of the skin secrete an oily substance called sebum that forms a
protective film over the surface of the skin.
• The unsaturated fatty acids in sebum inhibit the growth of certain pathogenic bacteria and
fungi. The acidity of the skin (pH 3-5) is caused in part by the secretion of fatty acids and
lactic acid.
• Perspiration helps flush microbes from the surface of the skin.
• Gastric juice, produced by the glands of the stomach, is a mixture of hydrochloric acid,
enzymes and mucus. The strong acidity of gastric juice (pH 1.2-3.0) destroys many
bacteria and most bacterial toxins.
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
ii. Second Line of Defense:
• When pathogens penetrate the physical and chemical barriers of the skin and mucous
membranes, they encounter a second line of defense; internal antimicrobial substances,
phagocytes, natural killer cells, inflammation and fever.
Antimicrobial substances:
• There are four main types of antimicrobial substances that discourage microbial growth:
interferons, complement, iron-binding proteins and antimicrobial proteins.
• Lymphocytes, macrophages and fibroblasts infected with viruses produce proteins called
interferons or IFNs. Once released by virus-infected cells, IFNs diffuse to uninfected
neighboring cells, where they induce synthesis of antiviral proteins that interfere with viral
replication.
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
ii. Second Line of Defense:
• Viruses can cause disease only if they replicate within body cells. IFNs are an important
defense against infection by many different viruses. The three types of interferons are
alpha, beta and gamma-IFN.
• A group of normally inactive proteins in blood plasma and on the plasma membranes
makes up the complement system. When activated, these proteins “complement” or
enhance certain immune reactions.
• The complement system causes cytolysis of microbes, promotes phagocytosis, and
contributes to inflammation.
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
ii. Second Line of Defense:
• Iron-binding proteins inhibit the growth of certain bacteria by reducing the amount of
available iron. Examples include transferrin (found in blood and tissue fluids),
lactoferrin (found in milk, saliva and mucus), ferritin (found in the liver, spleen and red
bone marrow), and hemoglobin (found in red blood cells).
• Antimicrobial proteins (AMPs) are short peptides that have a broad spectrum of
antimicrobial activity. Examples of AMPs are dermicidin (produced by sweat glands),
defensins and cathelicidins (produced by neutrophils, macrophages and epithelia), and
thrombocidin (produced by platelets).
• Besides killing a wide range of microbes, AMPs can attract dendritic cells and mast cells,
which participate in immune responses.
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
ii. Second Line of Defense:
• Interestingly enough, microbes exposed to AMPs do not appear to develop resistance, as
often happens with antibiotics.
Natural Killer Cells and Phagocytes:
• When microbes penetrate the skin and mucous membranes or bypass the antimicrobial
substances in blood, the next nonspecific defense consists of natural killer cells and
phagocytes.
• About 5-10% of lymphocytes in the blood are natural killer (NK) cells. They are also
present in the spleen, lymph nodes, and red bone marrow.
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
ii. Second Line of Defense:
• NK cells lack membrane molecules that identify B and T cells, but they have the ability to
kill a wide variety of infected body cells and certain tumor cells.
• The binding of NK cells to a target cell, such as infected human cell, causes the release of
granules containing toxic substances from NK cells.
• Some granules contain a protein called perforin that inserts into the plasma membrane of
the target cell and creates channels (perforations) in the membrane.
• As a result, extracellular fluid flows into the target cell and the cell bursts, a process called
cytolysis.
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
ii. Second Line of Defense:
• Other granules of NK cells release granzymes, which are protein-digesting enzymes that
induce the target cell to undergo apoptosis, or self-destruction.
• This type of attack kills infected cells, but not the microbes inside the cells; the released
microbes, which may or may not be intact can be destroyed by phagocytes.
• Phagocytes are specialized cells that perform phagocytosis, the ingestion of microbes or
other particles such as cellular debris.
• The two major types of phagocytes are neutrophils and macrophages.
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
ii. Second Line of Defense:
• When an infection occurs, neutrophils and monocytes migrate to the infected area and
during the migration, the monocytes enlarge and develop into actively phagocytic
macrophages called wandering macrophages.
• Other macrophages, called fixed macrophages, stand guard in specific tissues.
• Among the fixed macrophages are histocytes (connective tissue macrophages), stellate
reticuloendothelial cells (in the liver), alveolar macrophages (in the lungs), microglia (in
the nervous system) and tissue macrophages (in the spleen, lymph nodes and red bone
marrow).
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
ii. Second Line of Defense:
Inflammation:
• It is nonspecific, defensive response of the body to tissue damage.
• Among the conditions that may produce inflammation are pathogens, abrasions, chemical
irritations, distortion or disturbance of cells and extreme temperatures.
• The four characteristic signs and symptoms of inflammation are redness, pain, heat and
swelling.
• Inflammation can also cause a loss of function in the injured area, depending on the site and
extent of the injury.
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
ii. Second Line of Defense:
• Inflammation is an attempt to dispose of microbes, toxins or foreign material at the site of
injury, to prevent their spread to other tissues, and to prepare the site for tissue repair in an
attempt to restore tissue homeostasis.
• Because inflammation is one of the body’s nonspecific defense mechanisms, the response of
a tissue to a cut is similar to the response to damage caused by burns, radiation, or bacterial
or viral invasion.
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
• Second Line of Defense:
• In each case, the inflammatory response has three basic stages:
a) Vasodilation and increased permeability of blood vessels
b) Emigration of phagocytes from the blood into interstitial fluid
c) Tissue repair

Fever:
• Fever is abnormally high body temperature that occurs because the hypothalamic thermostat
is reset.
 Immune System
1. Innate Immunity:
• Second Line of Defense:
• It commonly occurs during infection and inflammation. Many bacterial toxins elevate body
temperature, sometimes by triggering release of fever-causing cytokines such as inteleukin-1
from macrophages.
• Elevated body temperature intensifies the effects of interferons, inhibits the growth of some
microbes, and speeds up body reactions that aid repair.
 Immune System
2. Adaptive Immunity:
• The ability of the body to defend itself against specific invading agents such as bacteria,
toxins, viruses and foreign tissues is called adaptive (specific) immunity.
• Substances that are recognized as foreign and provoke immune responses are called
antigens (Ags), meaning antibody generators.
• Adaptive immunity involves lymphocytes called B cells and T cells. Both develop in
primary lymphatic organs (red bone marrow and the thymus) from pluripotent stem cells that
originate in red bone marrow.
• B cells complete their development in red bone marrow, a process that continues throughout
life.
 Immune System
2. Adaptive Immunity:
• T cells develop from pre-T cells that migrate from red bone marrow into the thymus, where
they mature. Most T cells arise before puberty, but they continue to mature and leave the
thymus throughout life.
• Before T cells leave the thymus or B cells leave red bone marrow, they develop
immunocompetence, the ability to carry out adaptive immune responses. This means that B
cells and T cells begin to make several distinctive proteins that are inserted into their plasma
membranes.
• Some of these proteins function as antigen receptors – molecules capable of recognizing
specific antigens.
 Immune System
2. Adaptive Immunity:
• There are two major types of mature T cells that exit the thymus: helper T cells and
cytotoxic T cells.
• Helper T cells are also known a CD4 T cells, which means that, in addition to antigen
receptors, their plasma membranes include a protein called CD4.
• Cytotoxic T cells are also referred to as CD8 T cells because their plasma membranes not
only contain antigen receptors but also a protein known as CD8.
 Immune System
2. Adaptive Immunity:
Types of Adaptive Immunity:
a) Cell-mediated immunity
b) Antibody-mediated (humoral) immunity

• Both types of adaptive immunity are triggered by antigens.

• In cell-mediated immunity, cytotoxic T cells directly attack invading antigens.
• In antibody-mediated immunity, B cells transform into plasma cells, which synthesize and
secrete specific proteins called antibodies or immunoglobulins.
 Immune System
2. Adaptive Immunity:
• A given antibody can bind to and inactivate a specific antigen.
• Helper T cells aid the immune responses of both cell-mediated and antibody-mediated
immunity.
• Cell-mediated immunity is particularly effective against intracellular pathogens (viruses,
bacteria or fungi), some cancer cells and foreign tissue transplants. Thus, cell-mediated
immunity always involves cells attacking cells.
• Antibody-mediated immunity works mainly against extracellular pathogens, which include
any virus, bacteria or fungi that are in body fluids outside cells. Since it involves antibodies
that bind to antigens in body humors or fluids (such as blood and lymph), it is also referred
as humoral immunity.
 Immune System
2. Adaptive Immunity:
• Cytokines are small protein hormones that stimulate or inhibit many normal cell functions,
such as cell growth and differentiation.
• Lymphocytes and antigen-presenting cells secrete cytokines, as do fibroblasts, endothelial
cells, monocytes, hepatocytes and kidney cells.
• Some cytokines stimulate proliferation of progenitor blood cells in red bone marrow. Others
regulate activities of cells involved in innate defenses or adaptive immune responses.
 Immune System
2. Adaptive Immunity:
Cell mediated Immunity:
• A cell-mediated immune response begins with activation of a small number of T cells by a
specific antigen. Once a T cell has been activated, it undergoes clonal selection.
• Clonal selection is the process by which a lymphocyte proliferates and differentiates in
response to a specific antigen.
• The result of clonal selection is the formation of a clone of cells that can recognize the same
antigen as the original lymphocyte.
• Some of the cells of a T cell clone become effector cells, while other cells of the clone
become memory cells.
 Immune System
2. Adaptive Immunity:
Cell mediated Immunity:
• The effector cells of a T cell clone carry out immune responses that ultimately result in
elimination of the intruder.
• At any given time, most T cells are inactive.
• A T cell becomes activated only if it binds to the foreign antigen and at the same time
receives a second signal, in the form of some cytokines, such as interleukin-2 or pairs of
plasma membrane molecules, one on the surface of T cell and a second on the surface of an
antigen-presenting cell, that enable the two cells to adhere to one another for a period of
time.
 Immune System
2. Adaptive Immunity:
Cell mediated Immunity:
• Most T cells that display CD4 develop into helper T cells, also known as CD4 cells.
• Inactive (resting) helper T cells recognize exogenous antigen fragments associated with
major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) molecules at the surface of an APC.
• With the aid of the CD4 protein, the helper T cell and APC interact with each other and the
helper T cell becomes activated.
• Once activated, the helper T cell form its clones and memory helper T cells. Within hours
the active helper T cells start secreting a variety of cytokines.
 Immune System
2. Adaptive Immunity:
Cell mediated Immunity:
• One very important cytokine produced by helper T cells is interleukin-2 which is needed for
virtually all immune responses and is the prime trigger of T cell proliferation.
• The memory helper T cells of a helper T cell clone are not active cells. However, if the
same antigen enters the body again in the future, memory helper T cells can quickly
proliferate and differentiate into more active helper T cells and more memory helper T cells.
• Most T cells that display CD8 develop into cytotoxic T cells, also termed CD8 T cells.
 Immune System
2. Adaptive Immunity:
Cell mediated Immunity:
• Cytotoxic T cells recognize foreign antigens combined with major histocompatibility
complex calls I (MHC-I) molecules on the surface of body cells infected by microbes, some
tumor cells and cells of a tissue transplant.
• Recognition requires the TCR and CD8 protein to maintain coupling with MHC-I.
• Maximal activation of cytotoxic T cells requires presentation of antigen associated with both
MHC-I and MHC-II molecules.
 Immune System
2. Adaptive Immunity:
Cell mediated Immunity:
• Cytotoxic T cells kill infected target body cells much like natural killer cells do. The major
difference is that cytotoxic T cells have receptors specific for a particular microbe and thus
kill only target body cells infected with one particular type of microbe whereas natural killer
cells can destroy a wide variety of microbe-infected body cells.
 Immune System
2. Adaptive Immunity:
Antibody-mediated Immunity:
• The body contains not only millions of different T cells but also millions of different B cells,
each capable of responding to a specific antigen.
• Cytotoxic T cells leave lymphatic tissues to seek out and destroy a foreign antigen, but B
cells stay put.
• In the presence of foreign antigen, a specific B cell in a lymph node, the spleen or mucosa-
associated lymphatic tissue becomes activated. Then it undergoes clonal selection, forming a
clone of plasma cells and memory cells.
• Plasma cells are the effector cells of a B cell clone; they secrete specific antibodies, which in
turn circulate in the lymph and blood to reach the site of invasion.
 Immune System
2. Adaptive Immunity:
Antibody-mediated Immunity:
• During activation of a B cell, an antigen binds to B-cell receptors (BCRs). These integral
transmembrane proteins are chemically similar to the antibodies that eventually are secreted
by plasma cells.
• Although B cells can respond to an unprocessed antigen present in lymph or interstitial fluid,
their response is much more intense whey they process the antigen.
• Once activated, a B cell undergoes clonal selection which results in formation of clone of B
cells that consists of plasma cells and memory B cells.
 Immune System
2. Adaptive Immunity:
Antibody-mediated Immunity:
• Plasma cells secrete antibodies. A few days after exposure to an antigen, a plasma cell
secretes hundreds of millions of antibodies each day for about 4 or 5 days, until the plasma
cell dies.
• Interleukin-4 and interleukin-6, also produced by helper-T cells, enhance B cell
proliferation, B cell differentiation into plasma cells and secretion of antibodies by plasma
cells.
• Memory B cells do not secrete antibodies. Instead, they can quickly proliferate and
differentiate into more plasma cells and more memory B cells if the same antigen reappear at
a future time.