Innate Vs Adaptive Opportunity Essay

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In module 1.3 - Innate vs. Adaptive Immunity, we have learned a partial overview of immune tolerance and autoimmunity in the section of immune responses. Immune tolerance is when the immune system tolerates self-antigens and does not attack its own body’s cells, tissues, and organs, whereas autoimmunity results in attacking its own healthy cells and tissues that could lead to various autoimmune diseases. I found Ian Mackay’s (2001) scientific journal, “Tolerance and Autoimmunity,” helpful because it provides an in-depth understanding of a natural immune tolerance to self, and the importance of apoptosis for losing the immune tolerance and developing autoimmunity. Although there is a specific immune response to different invaders or substances, both specific immune response …show more content…

Mackay (2001) also suggests that by characterizing monoclonal antibodies with the use of the cluster of differentiation (CD) nomenclature, many functional cell surface molecules and their receptors could be described. There are 2 levels presented in generating the immunological tolerance: central tolerance (upper level) and peripheral tolerance (lower level). Central tolerance can be developed during fetal development, occurring in central lymphoid organs such as thymus and bone marrow. In order to back up the process, peripheral tolerance develops after childbirth. In the upper level, the nascent lymphocytes that have antigen receptors are being encoded in the randomly rearranged genes, and also being exposed to the antigenic signals from self-molecules. The positive selection stimulates weak interaction with low-affinity signals. This means to select only suitable lymphocytes for the immune repertoires. On the other hand, the negative selection requires apoptosis (cell-death) to eliminate self-reactive lymphocytes caused by the strong

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