When an antigen is detected, the immune response undergoes four main stages:
phagocytosis of pathogen
activation of T lymphocytes
activation of B lymphocytes
production of antibodies by plasma cells
Cellular immune response – includes phagocytosis and T-cell response
Humoral immune response – includes B-cells and the antibodies they produce
antigens are foreign proteins present on the cell surface membrane that stimulate an immune response
antigenic variability is when antigens mutate so their dna sequence changes so the immune system wont be able to detect newly mutated antigen - this is why some flue virus vaccines are updated every year
2 types of lymphocytes or white bloody cells:
B cells = mature in bone marrow involved in humoral response
T cells = mature in thymus gland involved in cell mediated response