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Adaptive immunity creates immunological memory after an initial response to a specific pathogen, and leads to an enhanced response to future encounters with that pathogen. Antibodies are a critical part of the adaptive immune system. Adaptive immunity can provide long-lasting protection, sometimes for the person's entire lifetime.
Humoral immunity is also referred to as antibody-mediated immunity. The study of the molecular and cellular components that form the immune system , including their function and interaction, is the central science of immunology .
The innate immune system or nonspecific immune system [1] is one of the two main immunity strategies in vertebrates (the other being the adaptive immune system). The innate immune system is an alternate defense strategy and is the dominant immune system response found in plants, fungi, prokaryotes, and invertebrates (see Beyond vertebrates). [2]
Despite not having the ability to manufacture antibodies like the adaptive immune system, innate immune system has immune memory properties as well. Innate immune memory (trained immunity) is defined as a long-term functional reprogramming of innate immune cells evoked by exogenous or endogenous insults and leading to an altered response ...
Hence in this capacity, the function of antibodies is more akin to that of innate immunity than adaptive. Nonetheless, in general, antibodies are regarded as part of the adaptive immune system because they demonstrate exceptional specificity (with some exceptions), are produced through genetic rearrangements (rather than being encoded directly ...
Adaptive immunity can be acquired either 'naturally' (by infection) or 'artificially' (through deliberate actions such as vaccination). Adaptive immunity can also be classified as 'active' or 'passive'. Active immunity is acquired through the exposure to a pathogen, which triggers the production of antibodies by the immune system. [7]
The adaptive immune system evolved in early vertebrates and allows for a stronger immune response as well as immunological memory, where each pathogen is "remembered" by a signature antigen. [55] The adaptive immune response is antigen-specific and requires the recognition of specific "non-self" antigens during a process called antigen ...
Scheme of the complement system. The complement system, also known as complement cascade, is a part of the humoral, innate immune system and enhances (complements) the ability of antibodies and phagocytic cells to clear microbes and damaged cells from an organism, promote inflammation, and attack the pathogen's cell membrane. [1]