Immune System Collaboration: Study with Video Lessons, Practice Problems & Examples

The immune system operates through a collaborative response to pathogens, involving both the innate and adaptive systems. Pattern recognition receptors, like toll-like receptors, activate innate immune cells such as macrophages, which present antigens via MHC molecules. This activates T helper cells, which secrete cytokines to enhance inflammation and recruit more immune cells. T helper cells further activate cytotoxic T cells and B cells, leading to a comprehensive immune response. This interconnectedness highlights the importance of both innate and adaptive immunity in effectively combating infections.

Collaboration

Hi. In this video, I'm going to be talking about immune system collaboration. So when we get affected by an infection or some type of pathogen, it's not only one part of the immune system that responds, but all of it responds. So now I want to connect all these pieces together and figure out how are all these things activated, and how are they all responding. The innate immune system is responsible for first responding to a pathogen. This happens when you have some kind of pattern recognition receptor. For example, toll-like receptors are going to recognize the pathogen that's present in the blood, or on the skin, or wherever it is. This is going to activate these cells, usually causing these white blood cells or macrophages to take up the pathogen. They begin degrading it, and they eventually present it via these MHC molecules that we talked about. So now we have this infection, these cells have taken it up, and now they're presenting it on the surface. When they are presented, that begins to activate other cells. For example, dendritic cells are a type of antigen-presenting cell, they're part of the innate immune system that presents these antigens and activates these T helper cells. Once T helper cells are activated, they begin to secrete inflammatory molecules called cytokines. Cytokines have a lot of functions. There's a ton of them, and I'm going to talk about all of them. But essentially, they are inflammatory molecules. So what do they do? They promote inflammation. They increase the numbers of white blood cells around. They help the white blood cells migrate to the infection site, and they increase cell adhesion molecules so these white blood cells can attach to all the blood vessels and travel to the area where infection is and stay there until the infection resolves. So now we talked about how the dendritic cells are part of the innate immune system, but the T cells are part of the adaptive immune system. So, now those T helper cells are activated. So, they further inactivate the innate, which is what this is, but they also activate other cells that are part of the adaptive. These T helper cells come in two classes. The TH1 cells go on to activate macrophages, which I talked about, and the cytotoxic T cells, which go on to kill the internalized pathogens. Then you have the TH2 cells, which come in and activate B cells to secrete antibodies to target extracellular pathogens. So sort of the innate immune system activates the T helper cells, and those T helper cells go on to further activate the immune system, but also activate cytotoxic T cells, B cells, all these other cells that are important in the adaptive immune system. Here we have an APC, which could be like a dendritic cell. It takes up the antigen, chops it up, presents it via the MHC molecules to probably a T helper cell. The T helper cell then goes on and can release cytokines that go on to activate cytotoxic T cells. Where are they? Cytotoxic T cells. They can activate B cells to produce antibodies. They can activate more helper T cells, which release these cytokines here that help activating macrophages or other types of white blood cells that are super important. So this is a great example, not only of T cell development and the different T cell types but how the process of connecting the innate immune system to the adaptive immune system works when we are infected with something. Hopefully, that's clear. So with that, let's now move on.

Choose the following with the proper order of immune system activation.

• A. B cell → T cell → Dendritic cell → infection
• B. Infection → T cell → Dendritic cell → B cell
• C. Infection → dendritic cell → T cell → B cell
• D. Infection → B cell → dendritic cell → T cell

Here’s what students ask on this topic:

How do the innate and adaptive immune systems collaborate to fight infections?

The innate and adaptive immune systems collaborate through a series of interconnected responses. The innate immune system is the first to respond, using pattern recognition receptors like toll-like receptors to detect pathogens. This activates innate immune cells such as macrophages, which engulf and degrade the pathogens, presenting antigens via MHC molecules. These antigens activate T helper cells in the adaptive immune system. T helper cells then secrete cytokines, which enhance inflammation and recruit more immune cells. They also activate cytotoxic T cells to kill infected cells and B cells to produce antibodies, leading to a comprehensive immune response. This collaboration ensures a robust defense against infections.

What role do T helper cells play in the immune response?

T helper cells play a crucial role in the immune response by bridging the innate and adaptive immune systems. Once activated by antigen-presenting cells (APCs) like dendritic cells, T helper cells secrete cytokines that promote inflammation and recruit additional immune cells to the infection site. They further activate cytotoxic T cells, which kill infected cells, and B cells, which produce antibodies targeting extracellular pathogens. T helper cells also enhance the activity of macrophages and other white blood cells, ensuring a coordinated and effective immune response.

What are cytokines and how do they function in the immune system?

Cytokines are signaling molecules secreted by immune cells, such as T helper cells, that play a vital role in regulating the immune response. They promote inflammation by increasing the number of white blood cells at the infection site and enhancing their migration and adhesion to blood vessels. Cytokines also activate various immune cells, including cytotoxic T cells, B cells, and macrophages, facilitating a coordinated attack against pathogens. Their diverse functions ensure that the immune system can effectively respond to and eliminate infections.

How do pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) contribute to the immune response?

Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), such as toll-like receptors, are crucial for the initial detection of pathogens by the innate immune system. These receptors recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) present on the surface of pathogens. Upon recognition, PRRs activate innate immune cells like macrophages and dendritic cells, leading to the engulfment and degradation of the pathogen. The degraded pathogen is then presented as antigens via MHC molecules, which activate T helper cells in the adaptive immune system. This activation triggers a cascade of immune responses, ensuring a comprehensive defense against the infection.

What is the role of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in the immune system?

Antigen-presenting cells (APCs), such as dendritic cells and macrophages, play a pivotal role in initiating the adaptive immune response. These cells engulf pathogens, degrade them, and present the resulting antigens on their surface via MHC molecules. This presentation is crucial for activating T helper cells, which then secrete cytokines to enhance inflammation and recruit more immune cells. APCs effectively bridge the innate and adaptive immune systems, ensuring that the body mounts a coordinated and effective response to infections.