Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Non-specific immunity, or innate immunity, is the immune system with which you were born, made up of phagocytes and barriers. Phagocytosis , derived from the Greek words phagein , meaning to eat, kytos or cell, and “osis” meaning process, was first described by Élie Metchnikoff , who won the Nobel Prize 100 years ago.
The innate immune system or nonspecific immune system [1] is one of the two main immunity strategies in vertebrates (the other being the adaptive immune system). The innate immune system is an alternate defense strategy and is the dominant immune system response found in plants , fungi , prokaryotes , and invertebrates (see Beyond vertebrates ).
Innate immune defenses are non-specific, meaning these systems respond to pathogens in a generic way. [19] This system does not confer long-lasting immunity against a pathogen. The innate immune system is the dominant system of host defense in most organisms, [2] and the only one in plants. [20]
Scheme of the complement system. The complement system, also known as complement cascade, is a part of the humoral, innate immune system and enhances (complements) the ability of antibodies and phagocytic cells to clear microbes and damaged cells from an organism, promote inflammation, and attack the pathogen's cell membrane. [1]
An immune response is a physiological reaction which occurs within an organism in the context of inflammation for the purpose of defending against exogenous factors. These include a wide variety of different toxins, viruses, intra- and extracellular bacteria, protozoa, helminths, and fungi which could cause serious problems to the health of the host organism if not cleared from the body.
Innate immunity is the first line of defense against cancer. It consists of non-specific immune cells that can recognize and destroy abnormal cells, including cancer cells. Natural killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells, and macrophages are some examples of innate immune cells that can detect and eliminate cancer cells. [4]
They take various forms (with various names) throughout the body (e.g., histiocytes, Kupffer cells, alveolar macrophages, microglia, and others), but all are part of the mononuclear phagocyte system. Besides phagocytosis, they play a critical role in nonspecific defense ( innate immunity ) and also help initiate specific defense mechanisms ...
Humoral immunity is the aspect of immunity that is mediated by macromolecules – including secreted antibodies, complement proteins, and certain antimicrobial peptides – located in extracellular fluids.