Humoral immunity Flashcards
what is humoral immunity?
body responds to antigens found outside cells
what does humoral immunity primarily deal with?
bacteria and fungi
how do B cells bind to the pathogen?
the B cells have specific antibodies on the cell surface membrane which bind to the antigens of the pathogen
in the blood there is a large variety of B cells all with different antibodies
what does the B cells do to the pathogen?
it engulfs the pathogen and presents the antigens and becomes an APC
these antigens are presented on the antibodies
what activates the B cells?
the T helper cells bind to the complimentary antigens on the B cell APC causing the T helper cells to activate
interleukins produced by the activated T helper cells cause the B cell to activate and proliferate
what happens during clonal expansion?
the activated B cell divides by mitosis to produces clones of plasma cells and B memory cells
what do the cloned plasma cells produce?
antibodies complimentary to the antigens on the surface of the pathogen
what is the primary immune response?
the antibodies produced by plasma cells bind to the antigens on the pathogen and disable them
what is the secondary immune response?
the B memory cells produced by the activated B cell would divide rapidly to form plasma cell clones if it came into contact with the same pathogen
this allows for a quicker immune response to the pathogen
