Cellular and humoral factors of immunity. Cellular and humoral immunity. Antiviral and infectious immunity

Good day, dear readers.

Today I would like to raise a very important topic, which concerns the components of immunity. Cellular and humoral do not allow development infectious diseases, and suppress growth cancer cells in the human body. Human health depends on how well the protective processes proceed. There are two types: specific and nonspecific. Below you will find the characteristics protective forces human body, and also - what is the difference between cellular and humoral immunity.

Basic concepts and definitions

Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov is the scientist who discovered phagocytosis and laid the foundation for the science of immunology. Not involved in cellular immunity humoral mechanisms- antibodies, and it is carried out through lymphocytes and phagocytes. Thanks to this protection, tumor cells and infectious agents are destroyed in the human body. Main actor cellular immunity– lymphocytes, the synthesis of which occurs in the bone marrow, after which they migrate to the thymus. It is because of their movement into the thymus that they were called T-lymphocytes. When some threat is detected in the body, these immunocompetent cells quickly leave their habitats (lymphoid organs) and rush to fight the enemy.

There are three types of T-lymphocytes, which play an important role in protecting the human body. The function of destroying antigens is played by T-killers. T-helpers are the first to know that something has entered the body. foreign protein and release special enzymes in response that stimulate the formation and maturation of killer T cells and B cells. The third type of lymphocytes are T-suppressor cells, which, if necessary, suppress the immune response. With a lack of these cells, the risk increases autoimmune diseases. Humoral and cellular systems The body's defenses are closely interconnected and do not function separately.

The essence of humoral immunity lies in the synthesis of specific antibodies in response to each antigen that enters the human body. It is a protein compound found in blood and other biological fluids.

Nonspecific humoral factors are:

• interferon (protection of cells from viruses);
• C-reactive protein, which triggers the complement system;
• lysozyme, which destroys the walls of a bacterial or viral cell, dissolving it.

Specific humoral components are represented by specific antibodies, interleukins and other compounds.

Immunity can be divided into innate and acquired. Congenital factors include:

• skin and mucous membranes;
• cellular factors - macrophages, neutrophils, eosinophils, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, basophils;
• humoral factors - interferons, complement system, antimicrobial peptides.

Acquired is formed during vaccination and during the transmission of infectious diseases.

Thus, the mechanisms of nonspecific and specific cellular and humoral immunity are closely related to each other, and the factors of one of them take an active part in the implementation of the other type. For example, leukocytes are involved in both humoral and cellular defense. Violation of one of the links will lead to a systemic failure of the entire protection system.

Assessment of species and their general characteristics

When a microbe enters the human body, it triggers complex immune processes, using specific and nonspecific mechanisms. In order for a disease to develop, the microorganism must pass through a number of barriers - skin and mucous membranes, subepithelial tissue, regional The lymph nodes and bloodstream. If it does not die when it enters the blood, it will spread throughout the body and enter the internal organs, which will lead to generalization of the infectious process.

The differences between cellular and humoral immunity are insignificant, since they occur simultaneously. It is believed that the cellular one protects the body from bacteria and viruses, and the humoral one protects the body from fungal flora.

What are there immune response mechanisms you can see in the table.

The links of the physiological chains of immunity are shown in the diagram.

Methods for assessing the state of the immune system

To assess a person’s immune status, you will have to undergo a series of tests, and you may even have to do a biopsy and send the result for histology.

Let us briefly describe all the methods:

• general clinical trial;
• state of natural protection;
• humoral (determination of immunoglobulin content);
• cellular (determination of T-lymphocytes);
• additional tests include determining C-reactive protein, complement components, rheumatoid factors.

That's all I wanted to tell you about the protection of the human body and its two main components - humoral and cellular immunity. A Comparative characteristics showed that the differences between them are very conditional.

Good day, dear readers.

Today I would like to raise a very important topic, which concerns the components of immunity. Cellular and humoral do not allow the development of infectious diseases, and suppress the growth of cancer cells in the human body. Human health depends on how well the protective processes proceed. There are two types: specific and nonspecific. Below you will find a description of the protective forces of the human body, as well as the difference between cellular and humoral immunity.

Basic concepts and definitions

Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov is the scientist who discovered phagocytosis and laid the foundation for the science of immunology. Cellular immunity does not involve humoral mechanisms - antibodies, and is carried out through lymphocytes and phagocytes. Thanks to this protection, tumor cells and infectious agents are destroyed in the human body. The main protagonist of cellular immunity is lymphocytes, the synthesis of which occurs in the bone marrow, after which they migrate to the thymus. It is because of their movement into the thymus that they were called T-lymphocytes. When some threat is detected in the body, these immunocompetent cells quickly leave their habitats (lymphoid organs) and rush to fight the enemy.

There are three types of T-lymphocytes, which play an important role in protecting the human body. The function of destroying antigens is played by T-killers. Helper T cells are the first to know that a foreign protein has entered the body and in response they secrete special enzymes that stimulate the formation and maturation of killer T cells and B cells. The third type of lymphocytes are T-suppressor cells, which, if necessary, suppress the immune response. With a lack of these cells, the risk of autoimmune diseases increases. The body's humoral and cellular defense systems are closely interconnected and do not function separately.

The essence of humoral immunity lies in the synthesis of specific antibodies in response to each antigen that enters the human body. It is a protein compound found in blood and other biological fluids.

Nonspecific humoral factors are:

• interferon (protection of cells from viruses);
• C-reactive protein, which triggers the complement system;
• lysozyme, which destroys the walls of a bacterial or viral cell, dissolving it.

Specific humoral components are represented by specific antibodies, interleukins and other compounds.

Immunity can be divided into innate and acquired. Congenital factors include:

• skin and mucous membranes;
• cellular factors - macrophages, neutrophils, eosinophils, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, basophils;
• humoral factors - interferons, complement system, antimicrobial peptides.

Acquired is formed during vaccination and during the transmission of infectious diseases.

Thus, the mechanisms of nonspecific and specific cellular and humoral immunity are closely related to each other, and the factors of one of them take an active part in the implementation of the other type. For example, leukocytes are involved in both humoral and cellular defense. Violation of one of the links will lead to a systemic failure of the entire protection system.

Assessment of species and their general characteristics

When a microbe enters the human body, it triggers complex immune processes, using specific and nonspecific mechanisms. In order for a disease to develop, the microorganism must pass through a number of barriers - the skin and mucous membranes, subepithelial tissue, regional lymph nodes and the bloodstream. If it does not die when it enters the blood, it will spread throughout the body and enter the internal organs, which will lead to the generalization of the infectious process.

The differences between cellular and humoral immunity are insignificant, since they occur simultaneously. It is believed that the cellular one protects the body from bacteria and viruses, and the humoral one protects the body from fungal flora.

What are there immune response mechanisms you can see in the table.

The links of the physiological chains of immunity are shown in the diagram.

Methods for assessing the state of the immune system

To assess a person’s immune status, you will have to undergo a series of tests, and you may even have to do a biopsy and send the result for histology.

Let us briefly describe all the methods:

• general clinical trial;
• state of natural protection;
• humoral (determination of immunoglobulin content);
• cellular (determination of T-lymphocytes);
• additional tests include determination of C-reactive protein, complement components, and rheumatoid factors.

That's all I wanted to tell you about the protection of the human body and its two main components - humoral and cellular immunity. And the comparative characteristics showed that the differences between them are very conditional.

Good afternoon, dear friends! So, today we will again talk about an important component for human health - his immunity.

Of course, we all understand that it is necessary to monitor our health, and each of us has repeatedly heard and uttered this phrase ourselves - increasing immunity. Today our topic will be one of the sides this issue, namely, what is humoral immunity?

This term is especially often heard in medical institutions. Let's try and understand what this means and how it works. The classification of the types of human defense system is quite extensive and includes several points.

Humoral factors of immunity, expressed in simple words, this is the constant production of antibodies designed to destroy pathogenic viruses and infectious manifestations. Confrontation must be constant, this is the only way to maintain health and prevent dangerous diseases. Human immunity is a link that should not be weak.

In connection with this type of protective system, it is impossible not to mention the second type, which is somewhat different in its functionality, but is inextricably linked with the above. This cellular appearance protective system. Together they allow you to achieve an excellent effect. What are the differences between cellular and humoral immunoprotective effects?

• Cellular has the ability to recognize and infect fungi, viruses, foreign cells and tissues in its own cellular structures.
• The humoral theory of immunity is associated with the defeat of bacteria located in the pericellular space, and mainly in the plasma.

The theory is based on the processes of specific interaction of antibodies. The basis of immunity B - lymphocytes, synthesized with native proteins, are able to instantly respond to the appearance of foreign proteins.

Moreover, as soon as a foreign substance appears in the blood, even regardless of its harmfulness, antibodies are immediately formed. And such a reaction can cause the defeat of the “foreigner” without much effort.

That is, to make it completely clear, the mechanism of action is simple, the protection of our blood and cells during humoral immunity is carried out by antigen proteins. They are included in the blood and other fluids of our body.

Humoral immunity - this is the recognition of bacteria in any body fluid, be it blood, lymph, saliva or others. The name “humoral” means liquid, moisture. With widespread formation of antibodies or immunoglobulins, whether Bone marrow, lymph nodes or intestines, protein compounds “stick” to foreign bacterial structures. They are successfully destroyed, then removed from the body with the same liquid. There are five main types of immunoglobulins:

A, D, E, G, M. Of all the lymphocytes in us, about 15% of them are detected in the body.

A little history

The history of the study of the humoral component of immunity goes back to the years when, in the 19th century, a dispute arose between two outstanding scientists Ilya Mechnikov and Paul Ehrlich. At that time, so much attention was not paid to the issue of immunity and people suffered from constant serious illnesses and infectious lesions.

On the basis of this intractable problem, the opinions of learned men came together in a dispute. Mechnikov's evidence was based on the fact that the immune properties of the human body work exclusively at the level of cellular processes. That is, cells are the basis of immunity.

Ehrlich argued with his opponent and argued that blood plasma is the main engine of protective processes, and immunity depends on its composition. This went on for many years, and none of them became the winner of the important dispute, or rather, they both turned out to be winners and received a Nobel Prize.

Here is a true story from the life of great scientists, which, through long research, made it possible to make important discovery. It is believed that humoral immunity was discovered by P. Ehrlich.

It turned out that one proved the advantages of cellular immunity, and the other humoral. We know the outcome of the dispute, both protective systems have for a person great value and are closely interconnected with each other. The regulation of protective processes occurs in two systems, cellular and molecular.

Only through the interaction of this symbiosis did a multicellular creature emerge that can withstand the endless attacks of viruses and pathogenic microbes. And the name of this creature is Man. Our unique system has allowed us to survive and survive through millennia, constantly adapting to our environment.

Humoral specific and nonspecific immunity

We all react differently to external negative factors that can cause diseases. Some begin to mope and experience signs of illness from the slightest breath of wind, others can withstand an icy hole. All this is the mechanism of action of the protective background.

Work today human body, doctors classify it as specific and nonspecific. Let's take a closer look at each of the concepts.

• A specific reaction or form is directed to any single factor. An example would be a person who was ill as a child. chicken pox, after which he built up a strong immunity to this disease. This can also include all those vaccinations and immunizations that we received in childhood.
• The nonspecific form implies universal protection given by nature and the body’s reaction to the penetration of infection into the body.

Let's look at the principle of operation of these two forms in more detail.

Factors with specific properties primarily include immunoglobulins or antibodies. They are carried out by white cells in the blood, otherwise they can be called B lymphocytes. How are antibodies produced in the body?

The first part always appears by transmission at birth from the mother, the second through breast milk. Time passes, and a person becomes able to produce them himself from stem cells or after exposure to a vaccine.

TO nonspecific factors include substances without a clear specialization, these are: tissue particles of the body, blood serum and proteins in it, glands and their secretory ability to suppress the growth of microbes, lysozyme, which contains an antibacterial enzyme.

The humoral component of immunity plays an important role in both cases and is built by constant formation in internal systems organism of “smart” antibodies.

Violations

Study methods make it possible to identify disorders in humoral immunity. This is done using a special analysis - an immunogram. This examination allows you to understand the number of B lymphocytes, immunoglobulins in the body, interferon indicator and other important parameters.

This test is performed by drawing blood from a vein. This is done on an empty stomach in the morning, so that before that there is 8 hours of abstinence from food, alcohol and smoking.

These are all pretty hard concepts to grasp. an ordinary person, rather, this is the prerogative of specialists. But still, it is interesting to understand the principle of immunity and expand your horizons a little on this issue. Don’t forget to support your body, and remember, your health depends on the state of humoral immunity!

The human body is protected from harmful elements that destroy health. A complex immune system helps different ways cope with diseases. One of its components – humoral – is a set of special proteins circulating in the blood.

Specific and nonspecific immunity

General immunity human includes cellular protection - this is an option in which foreign elements are destroyed own cells, and the humoral link. These are antibodies found in dissolved form in the blood plasma, on the surface of the mucous membranes, removing pathogenic antigens.

There is a classification that distinguishes types immune defense- specific, non-specific. The first acts against the pathogen certain type– each infection produces its own antibodies upon first contact.

The nonspecific barrier has versatility - it resists a large number viruses and bacteria. This is a barrier that a person receives at the genetic level by inheritance from his parents. The penetration of infection is prevented by:

• skin;
• epithelium of the respiratory system;
• sebaceous, sweat glands;
• mucous membranes of the eyes, mouth, nose;
• gastric juice;
• sperm, vaginal secretion.

What is humoral immunity

Humoral immunity fights antigens with the help of antibody proteins found in body fluids:

• blood plasma;
• mucous membrane of the eyes;
• saliva.

The humoral immune system begins to activate in the womb and is transmitted to the fetus through the placenta. last weeks pregnancy. Antibodies reach the baby from the first months of life through mother's milk. Breastfeeding is an important factor for the development of immune strength.

Humoral immunity can be formed in two ways:

• When encountering an antigen during infection, antibodies remember the carrier and subsequently, the next time they enter the body, they are recognized and destroyed.
• During vaccinations when introducing a weakened harmful element chemical compounds on cellular level They fix the antigen so that at the next meeting they can recognize it and kill it.

How does humoral immunity work?

Antigens, which are in a liquid state, recognize harmful elements in the blood plasma and destroy them - this is the basis of the mechanism of humoral immunity. The order is:

• Lymphocytes encounter foreign antigens.
• Cells move to organs immune system– lymph nodes, bone marrow, spleen, tonsils.
• Antibodies are produced there, which attach to strangers and become their markers.
• Plasma cells see them and destroy them.
• Memory elements are formed that can recognize the infection the next time it appears.

Humoral factors of innate immunity

The basis of innate protection is information transmitted to the child at the gene level. Humoral immunity factors are a set of substances that help resist numerous types of harmful elements that enter the body. These include:

• Mucin - a secretion containing carbohydrates and proteins salivary glands, protecting against toxins and bacteria.
• Cytokines are protein compounds that are produced by tissue cells.
• Lysozyme - found in tear fluid and saliva - is an enzyme that destroys the walls of bacteria.
• Properdin is a blood protein.
• Interferons are pathogen-killing agents that signal the entry of viruses into cells.
• The complement system - proteins that neutralize microorganisms and help identify harmful elements.

Single-celled eukaryotic organisms use toxic peptides to prevent bacteria and viruses from entering their cells. As complexly organized multicellular organisms evolve, they develop a multi-level immune system, the most important element of which is specialized cells that resist the invasion of genetically foreign objects.

Characteristic signs immune system:

• the ability to distinguish “one’s own” from “someone else’s”;
• memory formation after initial contact with foreign antigenic material;
• clonal organization immunocompetent cells, in which an individual cell clone is capable, as a rule, of responding to only one of many antigenic determinants.

Classifications [ | ]

The immune system has historically been described as consisting of two parts—the humoral immune system and the cellular immune system. In the case of humoral immunity, protective functions are performed by molecules found in the blood plasma, and not by cellular elements. While in the case of cellular immunity, the protective function is associated specifically with the cells of the immune system.

Immunity is also classified into innate and adaptive.

Congenital (nonspecific, hereditary) immunity is determined by the ability to identify and neutralize various pathogens according to the most conservative characteristics common to them, the range of evolutionary kinship, before the first meeting with them. In 2011, the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology was awarded for the study of new mechanisms of innate immunity (Ralph Steinman, Jules Hoffman and Bruce Beutler).

It is carried out mostly by cells of the myeloid series, does not have strict specificity for antigens, does not have a clonal response, and does not have memory of the initial contact with a foreign agent.

Adaptive ( outdated acquired, specific) immunity has the ability to recognize and respond to individual antigens, is characterized by a clonal response, lymphoid cells are involved in the reaction, there is immunological memory, auto-aggression is possible.

Classified into active and passive.

• Acquired active immunity occurs after an illness or after the administration of a vaccine.
• Acquired passive immunity develops when ready-made antibodies are introduced into the body in the form of serum or transferred to a newborn with mother’s colostrum or in utero.

Another classification divides immunity into natural and artificial.

• Natural immunity includes innate immunity and acquired active (after an illness), as well as passive immunity when antibodies are transferred to the child from the mother.
• Artificial immunity includes acquired active after vaccination (vaccine administration) and acquired passive (serum administration).

Immune system organs[ | ]

There are central and peripheral organs of the immune system. The central organs include the red bone marrow and thymus, and the peripheral organs include the spleen, lymph nodes, as well as locally associated lymphoid tissue: bronchus-associated (BALT), skin-associated (KALT), intestinal-associated (CILT, Peyer's patches).

Red bone marrow- the central organ of hematopoiesis and immunogenesis. Contains a self-sustaining population of stem cells. Red bone marrow is found in the spongy cells of flat bones and in the epiphyses of long bones. Here, differentiation of B lymphocytes from their precursors occurs. Also contains T lymphocytes.

Thymus- the central organ of the immune system. It differentiates T-lymphocytes from precursors coming from the red bone marrow.

The lymph nodes- peripheral organs of the immune system. They are located along the way lymphatic vessels. In each node there are cortical and medulla. The cortex has B-dependent zones and T-dependent zones. In the brain there are only T-dependent zones.

Macrophages, neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils and natural killer cells ensure the passage of an innate immune response, which is nonspecific (in pathology, a nonspecific response to alteration is called inflammation, inflammation is a nonspecific phase of subsequent specific immune ones).