Which of the following is a chemical defense found in tears? Select all that apply.
a. Water
b. Lysozyme
c. Antimicrobial peptides
d. Neutrophils

Question

Which of the following is a chemical defense found in tears? Select all that apply.

a. Water

b. Lysozyme

c. Antimicrobial peptides

d. Neutrophils

Accepted Answer

Hello everybody. And welcome back. The next question says, an enzyme called lysozyme is present in our tears and is released in response to infection. Which kind of defense does the lysozyme represent a physical b chemical C cellular or d specific? Well, let's think about the nature of defense that this is, it's an enzyme and it's present in tears. So it's present in an extracellular context. It's not a cell doing something, it's not a physical barrier and it's non-specific. So that would make lysozyme a choice b chemical barrier, other chemical barriers include gastric acid. So just all that acid and acidic environment in the stomach, making it very difficult for microbes to m to thrive and multiply there. And also antimicrobial peptides which circulate around in the body are present in different cells and have these antimicrobial properties. But again, they can, they aren't dependent on uh being in a cell. They, the chemicals themselves or the mole, the peptides themselves are antimicrobial. So those are the chemical barriers. We'll just look briefly at our other answer. Choices. Choice, a physical obvious the this represents a physical barrier to the invasion of a pathogen. So that would be the skin and the mucous membranes with the mucus itself, trapping pathogens that can then be swept out of the body. But that doesn't describe lysozyme. So not our answer. And then choice c cellular. This one might be a little more tempting because lysozyme is often released by the types of cells that say perform phagocytosis. But again, it's not dependent on it's, it's not a cell itself and it can be present outside of a cellular context. So in tears, in breast milk, uh other bodily fluids. So cellular defenses would be things like specific types of cells that act against pathogens. So this would be phagocytes, natural killer cells, mast cells. So we're talking at the cellular level, things that act against pathogens. So that's why lifestyle, even if it's released by cells doesn't count as a cellular defense. But a chemical defense. And then finally, choice d specific, these would be the components of the adaptive immune system. So those components that depend upon a specific matching with a particular antigen. So obviously, lysozyme, which is just this enzyme that can help destroy pathogens is not a specific type of defense. So once again, the type of defense represented by lysozyme is choice B chemical. See you in the next video.

Which of the following is a chemical defense found in tears? Select all that apply.
a. Water
b. Lysozyme
c. Antimicrobial peptides
d. Neutrophils

Verified Solution

Key Concepts

Chemical Defenses in Tears

Lysozyme

Antimicrobial Peptides

Which of the following is a chemical defense found in tears? Select all that apply.a. Waterb. Lysozymec. Antimicrobial peptidesd. Neutrophils

Verified Solution

Key Concepts

Chemical Defenses in Tears

Lysozyme

Antimicrobial Peptides

Which of the following is a chemical defense found in tears? Select all that apply.
a. Water
b. Lysozyme
c. Antimicrobial peptides
d. Neutrophils