Adaptive Immunity Publisher



Mirzaei HR¹
Source: Encyclopedia of Infection and Immunity Published:2022

Abstract

Adaptive immunity involves antigen-specific responses which are highly adapted to the specific pathogen and firmly regulated by crosstalk between innate immune cells. It has evolved to provide a versatile and finely tuned repertoire of receptors which can discriminate between self- and nonself-antigens. During the development, immature B and T lymphocytes undergo antigen receptor gene rearrangements to create an enormously diverse repertoire containing a set of antigen-specific receptors capable of recognizing all potential antigens. After pathogen elimination and cellular contraction, pathogen-specific long-lived memory lymphocytes are generated. These memory lymphocytes rapidly and strongly respond to subsequent encounter with the invading pathogen and generate new effector cells to eliminate the pathogen. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.