Science in science of immunity to counter pathogens in human body

The immune system in a human body consists of a network of cells and proteins that protects the body against any severe infection or in case of a major attack by any pathogen, for instance, viruses, bacteria, fungus, parasites etc. The immune system has an innate ability to keep a record of every germ that passes across our body. These microbes once try to reenter the body, get marked as specific-antigens, memorised by cells in-advance from its initial attack.

When the immune system within our body encounters an outsider like bacteria or a virus or any other parasite, it responds automatically. The White Blood Cells (WBCs), also called as leucocytes, circulate in the blood and lymphatic vessels of the body. These WBCs act like a watchdog, are vigilant to every action taking place inside our body, such as invasion by any pathogen to harm the normal functioning of the system. When they observe such kind of suspicious activities near the peripheral area, they target it and multiply in numbers, also, sending cautious signals to other cells types to get ready to fight the target. 

These WBCs can be found in various parts of the body such as thymus (a gland just below the neck); in spleen (an organ that filters blood); in Bone Marrow (placed in the centre part of the bones) and lymph nodes (small glands linked with lymphatic vessels). Once the B-lymphocytes (a kind of white blood cells) spot the invader, they begin to produce antibodies at an enormous rate. These antibodies are nothing but a mass of special proteins that counter attack specific-antigens. To counter these specific antigens, the B-cells or the B-lymphocytes generate specific kind of antibodies. For example, to fight against the antigens of influenza virus, B-cells produces specific antibodies that are different and unique for those antigens only.


The antibodies work with its five-kind of immunoglobulins inside any human body- a) IgG (that helps in marking pathogens) b) IgM (active in killing bacteria) c) IgA (releases fluids in the form of tears and saliva to act as gateways for the pathogens) d) IgE (fight against parasites) and IgD (works with  B-lymphocytes during immune response). Antibodies get attached to each specific antigens following lock and key hypothesis, to mark as targets and making easier for phagocytes to kill them faster.

There are other lymphocytes in body as well. They are called as T-lymphocytes such as helper T-cells that coordinate with other cell types during immune response and Killer T-cells that fight against viruses.

Antigen-specific immunity is developed over a period of time because our body tends to recognise most of the pathogens gradually. Inside a human body, once antibodies are produced, a print of it is stored inside the memory of the cells to recognise the same pathogen quickly if it tries to reenter the body.

Till date, our body has developed resistance to most of the deadly diseases. For instance, chicken pox. In the case of the current pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2, our body is still trying to fight and develop antigen-specific antibodies to fight the disease. The development of immunity against COVID-19 is a bit lengthy process because of the constant evolution of the virus through the process of mutation. There are three kinds of basic immunity that a human body gets along- Innate immunity (a human body is born with some kind of immunity to fight invaders); Adaptive immunity (a human body develops it with constant fight over a period of time) and Passive immunity, which is a borrowed one from other sources. The immunity that a human body generates with the help of immunisation or through vaccination is called as Immunised immunity. 

In the backdrop of the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, immunisation is the best possible step to get rid away of the disease at at faster rate.

Scientists and researcher across the world are continuously studying the virulent impact of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants to get a better understanding in order to contain its severity across the globe. As of 3rd June, 2021, WHO has evaluated nearly six vaccines against COVID-19 that met the criteria for safety and efficacy to beat the impact of the virus- AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine; Johnson and Johnson; Moderna; Pfizer/BioNTech; Sinopharm and Sinovac. Currently, these vaccines hold the certificate of guard against COVID-19 for the age group of 18 years and older.

But, we shouldn't forget the fact that a healthy body develops good amount of innate immunity to keep itself away from any kind of disease.

By-Rashmi Singh

#COVID-19 #Immunity #Immunisation #Scienceof Immunity #Pathogen #Virus #coronavirus #SARSCoV2 #WBC #pandemic #health #Vaccination

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