2021-02-23 23:05:18
Jorge Laborda presented us in a previous program, how our body defense system, the immune system, exerts its protective action against an initial invasion of a microorganism, be it bacteria, virus or fungus. He commented on how the organism protects itself, in the first place, thanks to the border that separates the interior of our organism from the external environment, a kind of wall that not only surrounds us externally, with the skin, but that extends through the interior of all the cavities that enter our body through the mouth or nostrils, the digestive system or the tubes that carry air into the lungs.
Although that outer wall is strong, as with everything in this life, it is not impenetrable. Accidents always occur that end up breaking the barrier and opening a hole through which microorganisms that constantly surround us and are eager to survive and multiply in the pleasant conditions of temperature and nutrients that exist inside our bodies tend to penetrate. It is in these situations when a series of processes begins, each one more fascinating, aimed at ending the invaders and restoring balance.
In the previous program, and the first in this series, Jorge Laborda described how the foreign border is dynamic, adapts, and contains a set of physical and chemical defenses that protect its integrity from foreign attacks. When these first defenses are overcome, an all-out war against the invaders begins, a contest that uses all imaginable weapons. Some are based on certain cells that continually patrol the body looking for possible invaders with the intention of capturing and eliminating them. These “sentinel” cells not only directly attack invading microorganisms but also sound the alarm by releasing certain chemical substances that cause a call effect on other cells so that they quickly go to the place of infection. The call is answered not only by sentinel cells but also by other cells, called “phagocytes” that behave like real soldiers that chase the invaders and eat them. As if this were not enough, these cells release toxic substances for microorganisms. The foregoing is only a brief summary of some of the actions that take place, you can find out in more detail both in the program We are surrounded! Immune System 1 as in the Jorge Laborda’s book: Your defenses against the coronavirus. A brief introduction to the immune system
Sentinel cells and phagocytes are not alone in the battle, along with them there is a sophisticated defense system based on a kind of chemical warfare against invaders known as the “complement system.” This is the protagonist of the program that we invite you to listen to today.
The defense strategy of the complement system is based on a liquid that bathes all the tissues and organs of the body. It is not like blood, because it contains practically no cells in it, except in the cases in which they are required to attack an infection. Twenty-five different proteins patrol the liquid, detecting the molecules of bacteria or any other invading microorganism and attacking them. The system is so extraordinary that they can envelop the invader, develop a kind of drill capable of opening holes in their membrane to put their internal fluids in contact with the outside and kill them, and generate warning signals that sound the alarm among the rest. of the defenders of the body.
I invite you to listen to Jorge Laborda, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Castilla-La Mancha. (Albacete), author of the Quilo de Ciencia y Ciencia Fresca podcast.
CHAPTERS ISSUED
We are surrounded! immune system 1.
The chemical warfare of the Immune System 2.
Alarm, we are attacked! Immune system 3
Adapting to the enemy within. immune system 4.
Reporting on the enemy. immune system 5.
B lymphocytes and antibodies. immune system 6
BOOK:
Your defenses against coronavirus. A brief introduction to the immune system
Your defenses against coronavirus. A brief introduction to the immune system.
Your defenses against coronavirus. A brief introduction to the immune system.
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