Name the main effector components of the innate and the adaptive immune response Flashcards
What is an immune response?
An immune response is the body’s ability to resist or eliminate potentially harmful foreign materials or abnormal cells
Define innate immunity and the components involved
Innate immunity is the 1st line of defence against pathogens, it’s non specific has no memory and acts rapidly. Humans are born with it.
Components include skin, mucous membrane and secretions
Define adaptive immunity and the components involved
Adaptive immunity usually comes after innate immunity as it’s the second line of defence against pathogens. After exposure to pathogens, it’s able to develop memory and remember pathogens making it antigen-specific. It also has a lag period as it takes longer to respond.
The components involved are antibodies, cytotoxic lymphocytes, T cells and B cells
The outcome of innate response
Upon detection of pathogens the innate system activates cells to attack and destroy the pathogen or to initiate repair while informing and modulating the adaptive immune response that follows
Outcome of adaptive response
The innate response calls the adaptive immune responses into play. Adaptive immune response is specific to the pathogen presented which is why it takes longer to come into play as it requires time for antigen-specific T-cells and B-cells to locate their specific foreign antigen, to proliferate and to differentiate into effector cells.