Ryan Sepehr

Animal Physiology Essay

November 25th, 2014
In this essay, I will be addressing the following question: How can B
cells be contrasted with dendritic cells? Dendritic cells have a primary
function that entails the phagocytosis of something such as a
bacterium, and the breaking down of antigens into segments that are
small enough to be bound onto a helper T cell at the class II MHC
molecule site. When the dendritic cell becomes bound to the helper T
cell, the helper T cell enters an activated state and begins to release
cytokines, which are small proteins that serve to enable
macrophages/dendritic cells/other immune system components to
function at a high level. Additionally, a helper T cell in an activated
state will be undergoing clonal selection, which is a series of mitotic
cell divisions. This process, combined with cytokine emission, lead to
extremely high effectiveness in fighting infection. B cells, located in
the lymph nodes, are different than dendritic cells in that they do not
cause phagocytosis. Each of these cells has around 105 antigen
receptors sprouting from their membrane, which serve to capture
antigens in the same way as dendritic cells do. Specific B cells can
bind only specific bacteria/viruses. B cells do not bind standard
helper T cells, but activated helper T cells that have already been
bound to a dendritic cell. When the B cell becomes attached to the
activated helper T cell, an immune synapse is formed. The helper T

cell will then release cytokines into the synapse, which will activate the
B cell. The B cell, in its activated state, will undergo mitotic divisions,
creating both effector B cells (plasma cells) and memory B cells. The
plasma cells will release IG receptors, which will enter the bloodstream
and act as antibodies, which will bind bacteria in various mediums
within the body. As animals, we humans often invoke these immune
responses to rid our bodies of infection. Like anyone else, I have
certainly had days where I have felt quite clearly under the weather,
but this is primarily due to symptoms such as fever and fortunately is
not an indicator that my immune processes are not working correctly
they are always working (unless something goes awry). If there were
some sort of condition that repressed the function of either dendritic
cells or B cells, the immune system would be compromised and then,
clearly, more problems would arise besides just a simple
fever/headache/other simple and temporary symptom.