The immune system is the body’s personal army that fights off sickness and disease. It is a complex network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to identify and eliminate harmful invaders such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. These warriors of wellness are always on high alert, constantly scanning the body for foreign pathogens and launching an attack when needed.

Several Ways on How Immune System Keeps Us Safe

The immune system keeps us safe in several ways, including:

Identifying and Destroying Pathogens

The immune system’s primary function is to identify and destroy pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi. It uses various mechanisms such as antibodies, white blood cells, and cytokines to neutralize and eliminate these harmful invaders.

 

Preventing Infections

The immune system works to prevent infections by acting as a barrier against pathogens. It does this by producing mucus, which traps foreign particles, and acids, which can kill bacteria and viruses.

 

Resisting Illnesses

A strong immune system can resist illnesses by quickly recognizing and attacking pathogens that have breached the body’s defenses. People with healthy immune systems often experience milder symptoms of sickness or recover quicker than those with weakened immune systems.

 

Identifying and Destroying Abnormal Cells

In addition to attacking pathogens, the immune system also identifies and eliminates abnormal cells such as cancer cells.

Immune cells age, like all of the other cells in our body. They gradually lose their ability to fight off illness including cancer, infection, and disease.

Cellular senescence or deterioration of cells to grow and divide was formerly assumed to be an inevitable result of common infection and aging. However, a study published last 2022 September 15  in Nature Cell Biology raises the possibility that the rate at which T cells deplete may be influenced by an early contact between T cells and antigen presentation cells (APCs) in the immune response to viruses.

 

Telomeres’ Role and Purpose 

Chromosomes’ telomeres, are lengthy, repeating DNA sequences that guard against wearing out. With each cell division, aging cells’ telomeres become progressively shorter until eventually they are unable to divide. According to a recent study, T cells, the white blood cells that fight viruses, receive their telomeres from APCs, the cells that initially trigger their immune response by presenting them with a foreign antigen, after infection.

Prolonged Cellular Life Through APC’s Telomeres

According to earlier research from other teams, T cells that are more stem cell-like have a longer lifespan than those that have undergone differentiation. The findings imply that when T cells receive telomeres from APCs, some T cells’ fate—whether they develop senescence or not—is predetermined. This implies that some T cells have their fates predetermined even before the immune response has begun. According to an immunologist Lanna, “that goes against immune senescence dogma.”

Infections are fought off by the immune system. We get sick occasionally even though our immune system usually does a good job of protecting us. Is there anything we can do to strengthen our resistance to disease? The truth is revealed to us.

Maintaining Immune System

• The immune response is the body’s defense mechanism against harmful pathogens and disease. It consists of a network of specialized cells, organs, enzymes, and organs.
• Our immune system finds and destroys germs, parasites, and viruses when it works properly. There are two main branches of our immune system: innate and adaptive.
• An individual’s innate immunity is their primary line of defense against disease. When our bodies detect an illness, our inherent response kicks into high gear. It creating more mucus and raising our body temperature to try to drive out the invader.
• The adaptive system takes 5–10 days to recognize and develop enough antibodies to defeat an intruder. The innate system limits pathogen growth at such time.

Summary

The immune response is an intricate mechanism, yet one that must be functioning properly to ensure survival. An attack is launched by the body against foreign pathogens such as a disease or a shard in the finger. Some immunity is present at birth, and it can be further strengthened by exposure to a disease or by receiving a vaccination.

 

Three separate clinical trials published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2021 found that 48 children with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) who accepted a corrected gene delivered by a virus have functioning immune systems after two to three years of receiving the treatment.

 

What is SCID?

SCID, often referred to as bubble baby or bubble boy  disease, is brought on by genetic changes in the ADA gene, which produces the immune system’s adenosine deaminase enzyme. These mutations stop the immune system from developing normally, and patients typically pass away within one to two years of birth. The condition has been treated with bone marrow transplants, although the process is risky and not always possible with qualified donors. Antibodies and antibiotics are frequently administered twice weekly as a stop-gap measure, while gene treatments promise to address the underlying cause of the issue.

 

How Gene therapy is done

Among 50 infants and toddlers with SCID caused by ADA mutations, a gene therapy was explored in three separate Phase 1/2 trials,  one in the UK and two in the US (ADA-SCID). Before injecting the cells back into the kids, the researchers took blood cells from the patients and tweaked a lentivirus to transport a healthy version of ADA. 48 of the patients have immune systems that can successfully combat invasive infections, such as COVID-19, two to three years later.