How does the immune system know we catch a virus/disease? And how does it attack the virus/disease?
In: 5
Take a virus for example:
– Your body has two major defense systems: one is your outer layer, like the skin and mucosal cells in your mouth and nose that filter/block things from getting in your body + unspecific cells (afaik dendritic cells) plus your white blood cells that attack any intruder. The other defence system is what many refer to the immune system: b and t cells that answer to an attack
– your body cells have proteins on their outside that show stuff that got produced in the cells. Your immune cells check those proteins to see if the cells work as intended.
– If a virus intrudes a cell, it rewrites its dna so the cell has to produce more viruses, that automatically get shown on the proteins on the outside of the cell
– if your immune cells detect unordinary stuff on those cells, they activate a immune response (too advanced, but simplified:)-the immune cells activate t killer cells that order cells to deconstruct (apoptosis) and b cells that produce antibodys in your lymph nodes (thats why they hurt when you are sick, they basically turn into a antibody factory)-these antibodys stick to the viruses, disabling them so they cant function any more
– your white blood cells then “eat” all the waste produced and clean the body- HIV for example attack the immune cells, so that they cant function any more, thats why you can die of “small” deseases like a cold when you catch aids, because your immune system is compromised
– biology class was some time ago and also I learned all the technical terms in german, so take it with a grain of salt
Latest Answers