The Immune System Essay

The immune system is a complex defense mechanism the body develops to fight and destroy the infectious microorganisms or pathogens. The system consists of cells called lymphocytes, which are divided into two types: B-cells and T-cells. These lymphocytes are produced by the heamtpoietic stem cells found in the bone marrow (1).The Immune System Essay Sample

This essay discusses the B-cells that are involved in the humoral immune response. It also discusses the role of B-cells in the immune system, antibody production mechanism, and a disease associated with the malfunction of the B – cell mechanism.

The humoral immune response is one of the two main types of the immune system. This response occurs when the immune system triggers specific B-cells to proliferate and secrete specific antibodies into the bloodstream. As a result, these antibodies “patrol” the body and destroy the pathogens and thus prevent an infection. In essence, the antibodies produced have different affinities for various antigens.

Therefore, prior to antigen exposure, each B-Cell secretes a unique antibody on its surface that enables the immune system to respond appropriately to a variety of microorganisms that could possibly attack the body (1).The Immune System Essay Sample

Antibodies belong to a family of immunoglobulin proteins (Ig), and they share some common features. For instance, all antibodies consist of four polypeptide chains made up of two light and two heavy chains joined together by disulfide bridges (1). In addition, they consist of two regions: the constant region that is next the C-terminal and the variable region adjacent to the N-terminal. These two regions results in the production of a variety of antibodies (1).