Immunity system complexity: T cells identify self, non- self (Introduction)

by David Turell , Sunday, May 05, 2019, 20:29 (2028 days ago) @ David Turell

Appears it is a matter of time interval:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190503100812.htm

"A team led by the Freiburg biologists Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schamel and Prof. Dr. Wilfried Weber conducted an experiment in which they controlled the duration of the interaction of a specific protein with T cells, a type of white blood cells, thereby showing how the immune system differentiates between self and non-self molecules.

"The function of the immune system is to distinguish between the body's own cells and pathogens. To protect the body from disease, it must recognize and attack these pathogens without damaging its own cells. T cells are an important cell type of the immune system that have a central role in this process. Via their T cell receptor, they bind not only to non-self, pathogen molecules but also to their own, non-pathogenic molecules.

"Exactly how T cells differentiate between self and non-self molecules is a central question in immunology. Since 1995, it has been assumed that the T cell measures how long the molecule interacts with the receptor. If a molecule binds for a long time, it is classified as a pathogen; if it binds briefly, it is self. Because it has not yet been possible to experimentally control the duration of the binding, this hypothesis could until now neither be confirmed nor refuted.

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"The Freiburg experiments supports the theory that T cells distinguish self and non-self, pathogenic molecules on the basis of the interaction time."

Comment: Immunity to protect living organisms must exist in all or life would not survive. It must be assumed and appears supported by genome research that dangerous viruses appeared as life started. The immune systems must have been designed from the beginning, an d are so complex chance development is not possible.