Stress and Immune Cell Activity
Brief or acute stress can temporarily enhance the activity of the immune system. This effect involves multiple components of the immune system, including key cell types.
Immune Cell Roles
- Macrophages: These cells act as the immune system's first responders, engulfing pathogens and cellular debris. Brief stress can increase their phagocytic activity and antigen-presenting capabilities.
- T cells: These lymphocytes are crucial for cell-mediated immunity. They help coordinate the immune response and fight infected cells. Acute stress can boost T cell proliferation and their ability to attack targets.
- B cells: Responsible for producing antibodies to neutralize pathogens, B cells are central to humoral immunity. Studies suggest brief stress can enhance B cell antibody production.
The enhancement of activity across macrophages, T cells, and B cells collectively demonstrates how brief stress can bolster immune system function.
Important Questions from Immune System
Bacterial infections are generally divided into two broad classes: intracellular and extracellular bacterial infections. Given below are some of the properties which are applicable for bacterial infections.
A. Humoral immune response is the main protective response against extracellular bacteria.
B. Innate immunity is not effective against intracellular bacterial pathogens.
C. Bacterial endotoxins do not induce an innate immune response.
D. Intracellular bacterial infections generally induce a cell-mediated immune response resulting in secretion of cytokines which activate macrophages.
Which one of the following combination of statements is correct?
The immunoglobulin heavy-chain that is rearranged first and is displayed on the surface of early stages of B-cell development is associated with:
Dr. Ralph M. Steinman was awarded Nobel Prize for his discovery on:
Which one of the following systems forms a chemical mediator that is involved in the mechanism of pain during inflammation?
Suresh was bitten by a poisonous snake and was immediately treated with anti-venom human immunoglobulin and was saved. A year later he was bitten by the same type of snake second time. Predict his response to the venom from second bite from the following:
