Question

Name two specific receptors on B cells and T cells?

Answer 1

The white blood cells, lymphocytes of the adaptive immunity have evolved to identify and fight against the broad range of pathogens. The immunoglobulins or Ig are the antigen-recognition molecules of the B cells. B cells produce these proteins in a wide range of the antigen specificities, each immunoglobulin produced by the B cells have a single specificity. The BCR (B-cell receptor) is the membrane-bound immunoglobulin present on the surface of the B cell that serves as a receptor for the antigen. The terminally differentiated B cells, plasma cells secrete the immunoglobulin of the same antigen as an antibody. In adaptive immunity, the main function of the B cells is to secrete the antibodies that bind to the pathogens or the toxic products produced by the pathogens in the extracellular space of the body.

In T cells, the antigen recognition molecules are made of membrane-bound proteins and perform a single function of signaling the activation of T cells. The TCRs (T-cell receptors) are similar to the immunoglobulins both in their genetic mechanism to produce great variability and in the structure of their protein having both C and V regions. However, TCRs do not identify and attach to the antigen directly, but instead identifies the short fragments of the pathogen’s protein antigens peptide which are attached to the MHC molecules on the other cells surfaces.

Therefore, the specific receptors on B cells and T cells are B-cell receptors (BCRs) and T-cell (TCRs) receptors respectively.