Outline7 marksChallenge
A 30-year-old woman is infected with a previously unencountered strain of Streptococcus bacteria. Outline the sequence of events that occur during the primary immune response against this bacterium.
In your answer, you should:
- explain what is meant by an antigen and the difference between self and non-self antigens;
- describe the roles of phagocytes (macrophages and neutrophils);
- describe the roles of B-lymphocytes (including plasma cells) and T-lymphocytes (T-helper cells and T-killer cells);
- explain how memory cells are produced and how they contribute to long-term immunity and the secondary immune response.