Question

IMMUNOLOGY QUESTION

The human immune system is an elegant system of intricately inter-related & inter-dependent players (T cells, B cells, etc, etc.). There is a degree of overlap in function so that, no matter the invader or means of invasion, the human immune system has an (or several) answer(s) for whatever problem the latest pathogen has to offer.

What is it about T cells, then, that their deficiency can lead to so many problems with immune response to various pathogens?

Use specific examples in your discussion.

Answer 1

The imune system is helped by two kinds of white blood cells. The “B cells” (so-called because they develop in bone marrow) produce antibodies. The “T cells” (so-called because they develop in a small organ called the thymus gland) are responsible for a variety of other immune responses.

Partial insufficiencies of T cell function include acquired immune deficiencysyndrome (AIDS), and hereditary conditions such as DiGeorge syndrome (DGS), chromosomal breakage syndromes (CBSs), and B-cell and T-cell combined disorders such as ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) and Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome (WAS).