Question

How do antibodies work in vertebrates? What happens to pathogens that come in contact with antibodies?

Answer 1

The vertebrate immuune system is a vastly complex network of circulating cells and molecules as well as large tissues and organs .

This composed of both innate and adaptive components,there are mch cross talk between these two branches.

The innate branch of immune system is thought to have evolved before the adaptive branch , and is characterized by a set of non specific responses that act quickly as initial defense against the patogens,and does not not reqire previous exposure to mount a full response .

all multicellular organisms have some form of innate immunity ,ranging from small antimicrobial peptide to large phagocyte cells while the innate system responds rapidly , the adaptive immune system may take several days or weeks to become fully activated ,and requires prior exposure to an antigens to mount a full immunological response , utilizing both cell mediated and humoral response.

Adaptive immunity

Following the immediate on-set innate immune responses, which act to limit the spread of infection, adaptive immunity becomes activated. The nature of both the pathogen and the innate immune response set up conditions that will ultimately stimulate either cell-mediated or humoral adaptive immunity. These immune responses then clear any remaining pathogens and form an immunological memory to help quickly control re-infections.

Innate immunity

Innate immunity is a semi-specific and widely distributed form of immunity, which represents the first line of defense against pathogens. This type of immunity is critical to maintain the homeostasis and prevent microbe invasion, eliminating a great variety of pathogens and contributing with the activation of the adaptive immune response. The components of innate immunity include physical and chemical barriers, humoral and cell-mediated components, which are present in all jawed vertebrates .

when an patogen(antigen) comes

the antibodies destroy the antgien which is then engulfed and digested by macrophages .white blood cells can also produce chemicals called antitoxins which destroy the toxins some bacteria produce when they have invaded the body.

How lymphocytes recognize antigen

A lymphocyte is different from all other cells in the body because it has about 100000 identical receptores on it to recognize one specific antigen .The receptors are proteins containing grooves that fit into patterns forrned by the atoms of antigen molecules so that the lymphocyte can ind to antigen .when antigen invades the body , normally only those lymphocytes with receptors that fit the contours of the perticular antigen take art in immune response .so they are called daughter cells are generated that have receptors identical to those found on the original lymhocytes.the result is a family of lymphocytes called a lymphocyte clone.with identical antigen specific receptors .

A clone continues to grow after lymphocytes first encounter an antigen so that ,if the same type of antigen invades the body a second tme,there wil be many more lymphocytes specific for that antigen ready to meet the invader ,this is a crucial component of immunologic memmory.