Host defense in which T lymphocytes serve as effector cells is called cell-mediated immunity. T cells are essential for eliminating microbes that survive and replicate inside cells and for eradicating…
Humoral immunity is the type of host defense mediated by secreted antibodies that is necessary for protection against extracellular microbes and their toxins. Antibodies prevent infections by blocking microbes from…
Cancer and organ transplantation are two situations in which the immune response to human cells that are genetically distinct from the normal self has important clinical consequences. In order for…
Humoral immunity is mediated by antibodies and is the arm of the adaptive immune response that functions to neutralize and eliminate extracellular microbes and microbial toxins. Humoral immunity is the…
The concept that the immune system is required for defending the host against infections has been emphasized throughout this book. However, immune responses are themselves capable of causing tissue injury…
Adaptive immune responses are initiated by the recognition of antigens by antigen receptors of lymphocytes. B and T lymphocytes differ in the types of antigens they recognize. The antigen receptors…
One of the remarkable properties of the normal immune system is that it can react to an enormous variety of microbes but does not react against the individual’s own (self)…
Antigen receptors serve critical roles in the maturation of lymphocytes from progenitors and in all adaptive immune responses. In adaptive immunity, naive lymphocytes recognize antigens to initiate responses, and effector…
This appendix presents five clinical cases illustrating various diseases involving the immune system. These cases are not meant to teach clinical skills but rather to show how the basic science…
The term “immunity” in a biologic context has historically referred to resistance to pathogens; however, reactions to some noninfectious substances including harmless environmental molecules, tumors, and even unaltered host components…