Adaptive Immune System
The adaptive immune response revolves around antibodies, antigens, and the creation of memory cells. It provides for faster response times should the same specific pathogen ever strike again.
As you may recall, your natural immunity provided by Mother Nature consists of the innate immune system with natural killer cells and the adaptive immune system.
Specific Immunity
Antigens are unique chemical markers on foreign cells that when introduced into the body stimulates the production of an antibody. Naive exposure happens when you experience a specific pathogen for the first time.
The adaptive immune system evolves as we age. The average person develops naturally between one to ten billion specific antibodies during their lifetime.
Contents of Adaptive Immunity
- Natural Immunity - Cell-mediated Immune (Th1 or T Helper 1) Response
- Artificial Immunity - Antibody or Humoral Immune (Th2 or T Helper 2) Response
- How Vaccines Work
- The Natural Health Perspective
Natural Immunity - Cell-Mediated immune (Th1 or T Helper 1) response
Cell-mediated immunity involves the activation of macrophages, NK-cells, cytotoxic T lymphocytes cells, and the release of various cytokines in response to an antigen. Here, the immune response does not involve antibodies, nor complement system signals.
These T-cells originate from bone marrow, but mature in the Thymus gland. There are two types of T-cells: Helper and Killer. Th1 helper cells are a pro-inflammatory immune response designed to kill viruses and some bacteria. And, when things go wrong are responsible for producing allergies and autoimmune responses.
After the adaptive immune system has successfully eliminated a new threat, a few B and T-cells are converted over to memory cells. The next time that your body faces the same threat, these memory cells enable the immune system to respond faster.
Artificial Immunity - Antibody or Humoral immune (Th2 or T Helper 2) response
The humoral immune response goes into action by producing antibodies in B lymphocyte cells in response to finding new antigens.
These B-Cells originate and differentiate in bone marrow and circulate throughout your body. They make 5 different types of antibodies: IgM, IgA, IgG, IgE, IgD.
T-cells help B-cells in a cell-mediated immune response to make higher quality antibodies that are more effective against their intended targets.
Newborns are born with antibodies that passed through the placenta. The mother's antibodies survive in the baby for between 6 and 8 months. Babies obtain more antibodies from nursing, but to a much lesser extent.
Through the chemotaxis complement system of the innate immune system, B-cells attack specific targets by means of chemical signals or messages known as cytokines, hormonal messengers, that target specific cells for destruction by B lymphocyte cells. TH1 and TH2 cells are cytokines.
TH2 cytokines are anti-inflammatory. They, also, can be responsible for producing some allergies, like asthma.
Natural health oriented practitioners theorize autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and Crohn's disease, as well as allergies are caused by an imbalance in the TH1 and TH2 cytokine immune response.
The Antibody Mediated Immune Response
How vaccines work
Conventional medicine theorizes that killer diseases can kill because they have developed ways of evading the tactics of the innate immune system. Developing new antibodies, B-cells, and T-cells from naive exposure to new antigens is a slow process that can take between 4 and 5 days.
Vaccines contain dead or weaken live viruses that result in your body producing memory B and T-cells for the targeted virus. Medicine claims that these memory cells produced by the vaccine will be effective against the real disease threat.
The natural health perspective
The effectiveness of many, if NOT all vaccines, simply is NOT as advertised. Furthermore, vaccination can be extremely dangerous to some individuals.
Conventional medicine is talking about the typical person who is grossly deficient in vitamins A, and D, plus the mineral zinc.
Throughout history, certain individuals, such as Thucydides in 430 BC, were able to survive plagues. Natural health advocates theorized that these people were able to survive NOT because of genetics, but due to a stronger immune system.
Conventional medicine refuses to recognize natural ways to strengthen your immune system.
Please read our Medical Advice Disclaimer.
- Immunity Specific Podcast
- Basic Immunology: Nuts and Bolts of the Immune System
Dr. Anthony DeFranco explores basic immunology, looking at the cells in the immune system, what they do and how they work. And, talks about vaccines.
