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Related Concept Videos

Special Features of Adaptive Immunity01:20

Special Features of Adaptive Immunity

The adaptive immune system, a crucial component of the overall immune response, offers a highly specialized defense against pathogens. It involves specific cell types and features, enabling it to combat infections effectively and efficiently.
The primary cell types involved in adaptive immunity are T cells and B cells. Each type has a unique role in defending the body against pathogens. T cells are responsible for cell-mediated immunity. They identify and eliminate infected cells directly,...
Immunological Memory01:23

Immunological Memory

Immunological memory, a pivotal pillar of the adaptive immune system, is responsible for the body's ability to remember and respond more swiftly and effectively to previously encountered pathogens. This remarkable feature is what makes vaccines so effective in preventing diseases.
What is Immunological Memory?
Immunological memory is an integral function of the immune system that allows it to recognize and react more rapidly and effectively to pathogens previously encountered. This feature is...
Active versus Passive Immunity01:31

Active versus Passive Immunity

Immunity, along with the ability to limit pathogen growth to prevent significant body tissue damage, can be gained either by (1) actively developing an immune response within the individual after exposure to a pathogen or after getting vaccinated or (2) passively transferring immune components from an immune individual to one who is nonimmune. Both these forms of immunity can be found naturally and in medical practices.
Active Immunity
Active immunity refers to the resistance one develops...
Introduction to Innate and Adaptive Immunity01:21

Introduction to Innate and Adaptive Immunity

The human immune system is a complex defense mechanism that protects the body from harmful pathogens and foreign substances. It comprises two crucial components: innate and adaptive immunity.
Innate immunity is the body's natural, nonspecific defense system that acts quickly to protect against pathogens. It incorporates physical barriers like skin and mucous membranes and cellular elements such as phagocytes and natural killer cells. This part of our immune system provides an immediate,...
What is the Immune System?01:38

What is the Immune System?

Overview
Cells of the Adaptive Immune Response01:23

Cells of the Adaptive Immune Response

The T and B lymphocytes of the adaptive immune system develop from common lymphoid progenitor cells in the bone marrow. These progenitors give rise to precursors that eventually develop into both T and B lymphocytes. As these precursors mature, they gain the ability to detect and respond to foreign antigens in the body, a process known as immunocompetence. Additionally, these precursors acquire self-tolerance, a process that ensures they do not react to self-antigens. This intricate system...

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Inoculating Anopheles gambiae Mosquitoes with Beads to Induce and Measure the Melanization Immune Response
08:24

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Published on: January 12, 2017

Immunity in a variable world.

Brian P Lazzaro1, Tom J Little

  • 1Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA. bplazzaro@cornell.edu

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|October 18, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Genetic variation in immune function is common in nature. Environmental and genetic diversity can maintain this variation, influencing host-pathogen coevolution and population adaptability.

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Immunology

Background:

  • Immune function is crucial for organism fitness, but natural populations show significant genetic variation in immune traits.
  • Environmental heterogeneity is increasingly recognized as a factor influencing the efficiency of natural selection on immunity.
  • Laboratory studies often control environmental variables, potentially overlooking their evolutionary significance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review literature on the complexity of natural selection acting on immunity.
  • To explore how environmental and genetic heterogeneities shape the evolutionary potential of populations.
  • To understand the role of these heterogeneities in host-pathogen coevolution.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review focusing on studies of natural selection on immune traits.
  • Analysis of how environmental factors (abiotic, pathogen diversity, host demands) impact immune evolution.
  • Examination of genetic variation in host populations and its interaction with environmental conditions.

Main Results:

  • Environmental heterogeneity can retard natural selection's efficiency on immunity.
  • Polymorphism in host immune genes can be maintained when different genotypes are favored under varying conditions.
  • Factors often treated as 'noise' in experiments are critical drivers of evolutionary dynamics.

Conclusions:

  • Environmental and genetic heterogeneities are key determinants of evolutionary potential in immune function.
  • Understanding these complexities is vital for predicting population adaptability and coevolutionary trajectories.
  • Future research should integrate environmental variability to better grasp immune system evolution.