Explanation:
We are constantly being exposed to infectious agents and yet, in most cases, we are able to resist these infections. It is our immune system that enables us to resist infections. The immune system is composed of two major subdivisions, the innate or non-specific immune system and the adaptive or specific immune system (Figure 1). The innate immune system is our first line of defense against invading organisms while the adaptive immune system acts as a second line of defense and also affords protection against re-exposure to the same pathogen. Each of the major subdivisions of the immune system has both cellular and humoral components by which they carry out their protective function (Figure 1). In addition, the innate immune system also has anatomical features that function as barriers to infection. Although these two arms of the immune system have distinct functions, there is interplay between these systems (i.e., components of the innate immune system influence the adaptive immune system and vice versa).
Although the innate and adaptive immune systems both function to protect against invading organisms, they differ in a number of ways. The adaptive immune system requires some time to react to an invading organism, whereas the innate immune system includes defenses that, for the most part, are constitutively present and ready to be mobilized upon infection. Second, the adaptive immune system is antigen specific and reacts only with the organism that induced the response. In contrast, the innate system is not antigen specific and reacts equally well to a variety of organisms. Finally, the adaptive immune system demonstrates immunological memory. It “remembers” that it has encountered an invading organism and reacts more rapidly on subsequent exposure to the same organism. In contrast, the innate immune system does not demonstrate immunological memory.
All cells of the immune system have their origin in the bone marrow and they include myeloid (neutrophils, basophils, eosinpophils, macrophages and dendritic cells) and lymphoid (B lymphocyte, T lymphocyte and Natural Killer) cells (Figure 2), which differentiate along distinct pathways (Figure 3). The myeloid progenitor (stem) cell in the bone marrow gives rise to erythrocytes, platelets, neutrophils, monocytes/macrophages and dendritic cells whereas the lymphoid progenitor (stem) cell gives rise to the NK, T cells and B cells. For T cell development the precursor T cells must migrate to the thymus where they undergo differentiation into two distinct types of T cells, the CD4+ T helper cell and the CD8+ pre-cytotoxic T cell. Two types of T helper cells are produced in the thymus the TH1 cells, which help the CD8+ pre-cytotoxic cells to differentiate into cytotoxic T cells, and TH2 cells, which help B cells, differentiate into plasma cells, which secrete antibodies.
The main function of the immune system is self/non-self discrimination. This ability to distinguish between self and non-self is necessary to protect the organism from invading pathogens and to eliminate modified or altered cells (e.g. malignant cells). Since pathogens may replicate intracellularly (viruses and some bacteria and parasites) or extracellularly (most bacteria, fungi and parasites), different components of the immune system have evolved to protect against these different types of pathogens. It is important to remember that infection with an organism does not necessarily mean diseases, since the immune system in most cases will be able to eliminate the infection before disease occurs. Disease occurs only when the bolus of infection is high, when the virulence of the invading organism is great or when immunity is compromised. Although the immune system, for the most part, has beneficial effects, there can be detrimental effects as well. During inflammation, which is the response to an invading organism, there may be local discomfort and collateral damage to healthy tissue as a result of the toxic products produced by the immune response. In addition, in some cases the immune response can be directed toward self tissues resulting in autoimmune disease.
