59- Antibodies and Antigens - inflammation part 4 of 4

KYJ 59 - Antigens, antibodies and basic immune function.
Getting your head around the basic immunology stuff can be daunting.
In this quick post I will explore the above terms.
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Suppose a bacteria enters your body. On its surface are chemicals. in the same way that every human you have met has a particular scent, so to do bacteria.  Strep have their own strep "taste", and E-Coli have their own E-Coli "taste", and so for all microbes (bacteria, virus, paracites); there is this unique chemical on their "skin".

That Chemical scent is called an ANTIGEN.

Microbes that cause diseases are called Pathogens.  You have heard of good bacteria, and bad bacteria??  Well bad ones are pathogens, and therefore pathogenic, meaning they cause illness, infection , and some cancers - eg HPV and Cervical Cancer.

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White blood cells called B-Lymphocytes are genetically programed to recognise these pathogens because they "smell" their Antigen (scent).  When they recognise a pathogen, they secrete a substance that sticks to the Antigen on the pathogen's surface.

This chemical secreted by the B-Lymphocyte is called an ANTIBODY.

Antibodies, are also referred to by their technical name - immunoglobulin abbreviated to Ig.

Now an antibody sticks to or binds to an antigen (all on the surface of the Bacteria).  This antibody/antigen then is able to be recognised by killing cells called Killer T Lymphocytes, or Cytotoxic Ts.

Think of B cells as a Forrester who chooses which trees to cut down.  He doesn't cut them down, he just marks the tree for distruction.

So B Cell the Forrester (Barry) ties a pink ribbon around the trunks .  The pink Ribbon is an Antibody (Ig).

Now Tom the Lumberjack (Killer T Lymphocyte) sees the trees that need destroying, and attacks them with his toxic poison (chainsaw).

Now we have dead bit of tree (bacteria) lying on the forest floor.  so Phil the Phagocyte cleans up the mess.

Now lets look at vaccination.
with vaccination a person is given some antigens from weakened or dead pathogens.  the B Cells recognise these antigens, and start making antibodies which stay in the body for months to years.  But most importantly, some T Cells  are reminded of who the bad guys are, so should they be exposed to the live pathogen, they mount a rapid all out attack quickly and effectively before the disease takes hold.