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Adaptive immunity
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The body's immune response has two branches. Adaptive immunity is the second one, and two things set it apart: it is specific, meaning it recognizes one particular intruder rather than intruders in general, and it has immunological memory, which means it holds on to a record of what it has already faced.
The work is done by lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. They come in two classes, B and T. Each one carries a receptor on its surface, a kind of lock, built by rearranging pieces inside the cell itself; that way each lymphocyte is able to recognize one specific antigen, the part of the intruder it latches onto. B lymphocytes make immunoglobulins, the technical name for antibodies, directed against that same antigen.
This branch is defined by two mechanisms: clonal expansion, the multiplication of the lymphocyte that matched the antigen into copies of itself, and immunological memory. It keeps a template of the intruder, so the second encounter does not start from scratch. Those two mechanisms are what the lasting protection of vaccines rests on.
In brief
Adaptive immunity is one of the two branches of the immune response, set apart by its specificity and its immunological memory.
B and T lymphocytes carry it out, using rearranged receptors that recognize one specific antigen; B cells produce immunoglobulins directed against that antigen.
The adaptive branch is defined by clonal expansion and immunological memory, the mechanisms behind the lasting protection vaccines provide.
It keeps a template of the intruder, so the second encounter does not start from scratch.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingPhysiology, Immune Response, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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