A Set on edgi
How Immune Cells Decide What to Kill
Almost every cell in your body carries an ID badge. Show the wrong one, or none, and your own immune system kills it.
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Immunology
Immunology is the branch of biology and medicine that studies how immune systems protect organisms from disease.
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Killer T Cells
Killer T cells are white blood cells that hunt and destroy infected or cancerous cells by recognizing antigens displayed on MHC molecules.
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Major histocompatibility complex
Learn how the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) presents protein fragments on cell surfaces to help T cells detect viruses and cancers.
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Natural killer cell
Natural killer cells are white blood cells that destroy tumor and virus-infected cells lacking normal MHC class I identity markers.
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Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity
Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity uses antibodies to guide immune cells like natural killer cells to destroy infected or cancerous cells.
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Complement System
The complement system is a network of about 50 blood proteins that automatically attack foreign invaders and clear damaged cells.
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Apoptosis
Apoptosis is programmed cell death, a built-in biological routine where an unneeded or damaged cell systematically destroys itself.
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Checkpoint inhibitor
Cancer drugs called checkpoint inhibitors block off-switches on T cells, freeing the immune system to attack tumors.