The chemotherapeutic drugs Mr. White is taking affect all cells that undergo rapid mitosis, such as those of the skin. What effect would this have on the functions of the skin? How could this affect his immunity? (Connects to Chapter 5)

Video transcript

Hi, everyone. Let's take a look at this practice problem together, what line of defense will be compromised if a person's skin cells are damaged by chemotherapy and are unable to undergo rapid mitosis. The answer options are a first line of defense. B, second line of defense, C, third line of defense and D, all of the above. So recall that in the immune system, there are three lines of defense option. A, the first line of defense is the physical barrier and that is the skin option. B the second line of defense is the non-specific immune responses also known as innate immunity. And this includes cells like macrophages. Option C. The third line of defense is these specific immune responses or also known as adaptive immunity. And this includes responses by B and T cells. So, as we're told in the question, skin cells undergo rapid mitosis and if they are unable to do so, that means the chemotherapy has damaged the first line of defense. So the correct answer is option. A first line of defense. All right, everyone. I hope you found this helpful and I'll see you soon for the next practice problem.