what exactly is cell mediated and humoral anyway? Can't find it in the textbook
Ive answered this before so I had a skim through...
Well Humoral and Cell-Mediated responses fall under the 3rd line of defence also known as the specific/adaptive immunity.
Humoral:
-B-lymphocytes are the major cells involved.
- Produced in the Bone Marrow (thus the name B-lymphocytes)
-Each B-Cell has its individual antibody/antigen complex
-Production of antibodies
B-Cells differentiate (clonal expansion) into
- B-Plasma cells (effector cells): secrete antibodies
- B-memory cells: remain in the body so when the antigen is encountered again, a response can rapidly be reenacted.
Cell-Mediated:
-Cell mediated response occurs when a pathogen is already in the cell. This level of immunity is carried out by T cells.
-T-Cells made in the Bone Marrow however matured in the Thymus (hence its name T-Cells)
T-Cells include; Helper T cells (Th), Cytotoxic T cells (Tc) and Suppressor T cells.
-Helper T cells active cytotoxic cells and present antigens to immature B cells.
-Cytotoxic cells detect/recognise cells with infection, are able to destroy these foreign cells with contact
-Lastly Suppressor T cells, literally suppress the immune responses once the antigen has been removed
Antibodies; are proteins that bind and neutralise antigens. Are quite specific (like an enzyme-substrate complex).