humoral response Flashcards
what are B lymphocytes/ B cells ?
white blood cells involved in the specific immune response
where are all lymphocytes made and mature ?
bone marrow
when is a B cell triggered ?
when antigens in the blood collides with their complementary antibody on a B cell .The B cell takes in the antigen by endocytosis and then presents it on it’s cell surface membrane
what happens when a B cell collides with a helper T cell receptor ?
it activates the B cell to go through clonal expansion and diffrientation ( clonal selection )
what happens in clonal selection of B cells ?
they undergo mitosis to make a large number of cells ,these diffrientiate into B plasma cells or B memory cells
what do B plasma cells do ?
make antibodies
what do B memory cells do ?
divide rapidly into plasma cells when reinfected with the same pathogen to make large numbers of antibodies rapidly
compare memory B cells and Plasma B cells life spans
Memory B cells can live for decades in you body whereas Plasma B cells are short lived
how doe memory B cells work?
they collide with an antigen they have previously encountered and rapidy make plasma B cells
why do memory B cell help prevent illness ?
large number of antibodies being produced so rapidly they destroy the pathogen so quick that you don’t have time to get symptoms
->active immunity
what type of proteins are antibodies ?
Quaternary structure antibodies ( 4 polypeptide chains )
which bit of a antibody changes in shape ?
variable region
what type of chains and how many of each does a antibody have (how is arranged) ?
2 heavy chains on the inside and 2 light chains on the top half of the outside
what type of bonds does a antibody have (how many as well ) ?
4 disulphide bridges
what is agglutination ?
antibodies are flexible antibodies can bind to multiple antigens to clump them together .this makes it easier for phagocyte to locate and destroy pathogens .
