4.1.1 Communicable Disease and Prevention – B lymphocytes Flashcards
(15 cards)
What type of immune response are lymphocytes involved in?
The specific immune response.
Name the 2 types of lymphocytes.
B and T lymphocytes.
Describe the nucleus found in a lymphocyte.
It is large and round.
Where are lymphocytes made?
The bone marrow.
Where do B lymphocytes mature?
The bone marrow.
Where do T lymphocytes mature?
The thymus.
What type of immune response are B lymphocytes involved in?
Humoral or antibody mediated immunity.
What type of immune response are T lymphocytes involved in?
Cell mediated immunity.
State the chemical produced by a T helper cell once it has recognised a foreign antigen.
Interleukin (a cytokine).
Describe how specific B cells become activated by T helper cells during clonal selection.
The specifically shaped interleukin (produced by the T helper cell) binds onto the complementary shaped receptor on the surface of a B lymphocyte.
By what process does the activated B lymphocyte divide by during clonal expansion?
Mitosis.
As B lymphocytes divide, they also differentiate into which 2 types of cell?
B plasma cells.
B memory cells.
What is the function of a B plasma cell?
To secrete antibodies against the antigen in order to destroy the pathogen.
What is the function of a B memory cell?
- B memory cells are specific to a particular antigen.
- They remain in the body to produce the secondary immune response if the same pathogen were to re-infect.
How is the B lymphocyte’s secondary immune response different to its primary immune response?
Following a second infection of the same pathogen:
- There is a shorter time delay between infection and antibody production (as clonal selection is not required)
- More antibodies are produced at a faster rate.
