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Illustration shows a bacterium being engulfed by a macrophage. Lysosomes fuse with the vacuole containing the bacteria. The bacterium is digested. Antigens from the bacterium are attached to a MHC II molecule and presented on the cell surface.
An antigen-presenting cell (APC), such as a macrophage, engulfs a foreign antigen, partially digests it in a lysosome, and then embeds it in an MHC class II molecule for presentation at the cell surface. Lymphocytes of the adaptive immune response must interact with antigen-embedded MHC class II molecules to mature into functional immune cells.

Concept in action

View this animation from Rockefeller University to see how dendritic cells act as sentinels in the body’s immune system.

T cells have many functions. Some respond to APCs of the innate immune system and indirectly induce immune responses by releasing cytokines. Others stimulate B cells to start the humoral response as described previously. Another type of T cell detects APC signals and directly kills the infected cells, while some are involved in suppressing inappropriate immune reactions to harmless or “self” antigens.

There are two main types of T cells: helper T lymphocytes (T H ) and the cytotoxic T lymphocytes (T C ). The T H lymphocytes function indirectly to tell other immune cells about potential pathogens.

Cytotoxic T cells (T C ) are the key component of the cell-mediated part of the adaptive immune system and attack and destroy infected cells. T C cells are particularly important in protecting against viral infections; this is because viruses replicate within cells where they are shielded from extracellular contact with circulating antibodies. Once activated, the T C creates a large clone of cells with one specific set of cell-surface receptors, as in the case with clonal expansion of activated B cells. As with B cells, the clone includes active T C cells and inactive memory T C cells. The resulting active T C cells then identify infected host cells. Because of the time required to generate a population of clonal T and B cells, there is a delay in the adaptive immune response compared to the innate immune response.

T C cells attempt to identify and destroy infected cells before the pathogen can replicate and escape, thereby halting the progression of intracellular infections. T C cells also support NK lymphocytes to destroy early cancers. Cytokines secreted by the T H 1 response that stimulates macrophages also stimulate T C cells and enhance their ability to identify and destroy infected cells and tumors. A summary of how the humoral and cell-mediated immune responses are activated appears in [link] .

B plasma cells and T C cells are collectively called effector cells because they are involved in “effecting” (bringing about) the immune response of killing pathogens and infected host cells.

Illustration shows the steps involved in one method of activating a humoral or cell-mediated immune response. The first step shows a bacterium being engulfed by a macrophage. Lysosomes fuse with the vacuole containing the bacteria. The bacterium is digested. Antigens from the bacterium are attached to a MHC II molecule and presented on the cell surface. The next step shows the activation of a helper T cell. A T cell receptor on the surface of the T cell binds the MHC II-antigen complex presented by the macrophage (also called an antigen-presenting cell). As a result, the helper T cell becomes activated and both the helper T cell and macrophage cell release cytokines. The cytokines induce the helper T cell to clone itself. The cloned helper T cells release different cytokines that activate B cells, causing them to clone and begin the humoral immune response; and other T cells, turning them into cytotoxic T cells and beginning the cell-mediated immune response.
A helper T cell becomes activated by binding to an antigen presented by an APC via the MHCII receptor, causing it to release cytokines. Depending on the cytokines released, this activates either the humoral or the cell-mediated immune response.

Immunological memory

The adaptive immune system has a memory component that allows for a rapid and large response upon reinvasion of the same pathogen. During the adaptive immune response to a pathogen that has not been encountered before, known as the primary immune response    , plasma cells secreting antibodies and differentiated T cells increase, then plateau over time. As B and T cells mature into effector cells, a subset of the naïve populations differentiates into B and T memory cells with the same antigen specificities ( [link] ). A memory cell    is an antigen-specific B or T lymphocyte that does not differentiate into an effector cell during the primary immune response, but that can immediately become an effector cell on reexposure to the same pathogen. As the infection is cleared and pathogenic stimuli subside, the effectors are no longer needed and they undergo apoptosis. In contrast, the memory cells persist in the circulation.

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Source:  OpenStax, Human biology. OpenStax CNX. Dec 01, 2015 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11903/1.3
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