Take 1 or 2 minutes to read about the differences between
Antibodies
&
T Cells
cancercenter.com/community/blog…
Antibodies
&
T Cells
cancercenter.com/community/blog…
Your first line of defense is called "innate immunity".
You were born with this.
This immune "army" attacks infections that you have never been exposed to.
This is your first line of defense.
You were born with this.
This immune "army" attacks infections that you have never been exposed to.
This is your first line of defense.
What would you do if
a) you were losing the battle
b) you had fought this tough enemy before?
You would call in the special ops team who had studied the enemy from previous battles and was fully prepared to defeat them.
This is Acquired Immunity from previous infections.
a) you were losing the battle
b) you had fought this tough enemy before?
You would call in the special ops team who had studied the enemy from previous battles and was fully prepared to defeat them.
This is Acquired Immunity from previous infections.
The T cells are the highly trained special ops team of acquired immunity that comes in a little later after the first line of defense, the innate immunity, the army, has begun to fight.
It takes a while for the T cells to multiply and get to the site of the battle.
It takes a while for the T cells to multiply and get to the site of the battle.
When you inject a piece of the virus or a dead virus as part of a vaccine, the manufacturers & special ops forces go to work for the next battle with the virus.
The B cells begin to rev up production to be prepared to make antibodies against the virus the next time it invades.
The B cells begin to rev up production to be prepared to make antibodies against the virus the next time it invades.
What do the antibodies that the B cells manufacture do?
They are like a reconnaissance team that finds the enemy & alert the special ops team to their location. Antibodies attach to the virus & mark it as a target for the T cells (the special ops team) to come and destroy.
They are like a reconnaissance team that finds the enemy & alert the special ops team to their location. Antibodies attach to the virus & mark it as a target for the T cells (the special ops team) to come and destroy.
Your reconnaissance team (the antibodies) may leave the site of the battle soon after its over.
Your special ops team (the T cells) hang around longer in case any fighting breaks out again.
You can ramp up and deploy more of both of them pretty quickly if you need to.
Your special ops team (the T cells) hang around longer in case any fighting breaks out again.
You can ramp up and deploy more of both of them pretty quickly if you need to.
Here is the fascinating thing: If you never fought a specific enemy in the past, you might have fought an enemy like them & your special ops team would know what to do.
We think this is why some people have milder cases of #COVID19: they may have fought a common cold like COVID.
We think this is why some people have milder cases of #COVID19: they may have fought a common cold like COVID.
We now know some people have T cells that recognize #COVID19 even though they have never been exposed to SARS, MERS, or the new virus, maybe due to cross-reactivity with proteins from the “common cold” coronaviruses”. blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archi…
Here is the Good news:
People who caught SARS (a coronavrius like #COVID19) in 2003 still had a robust T-cell special ops team response to the original SARS coronavirus 17 years later!
Thus T cell immunity May be long lasting!
blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archi…
People who caught SARS (a coronavrius like #COVID19) in 2003 still had a robust T-cell special ops team response to the original SARS coronavirus 17 years later!
Thus T cell immunity May be long lasting!
blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archi…
So ...
We May not lose "immunity" if antibodies fade away.
The original SARS infection, SARS COV1, is a closely related virus to the current SARS COV2 (what many call #COVID19) & the T cells are ready to rock and roll 17 years after infection with SARS COV1!
Time will tell ...
We May not lose "immunity" if antibodies fade away.
The original SARS infection, SARS COV1, is a closely related virus to the current SARS COV2 (what many call #COVID19) & the T cells are ready to rock and roll 17 years after infection with SARS COV1!
Time will tell ...
