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How Does Immune System Work Against Viruses?

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ivan chen

Abstract: Immune system is a term familiar to the public, but actually, immune system works in a complicated way with the whole defense network.

 

For the novel coronavirus, specific antiviral drugs are not available now and symptomatic treatments such as artificial lung, parenteral nutrition, etc. do not directly affect the virus. Thus, the body clears the virus depending on the immune system. So, what exactly does immune system mean?

The so-called "immunity" is to eliminate bacterial and viral infections. When a virus invades human body, the body can mobilize the defense network to eliminate the virus through multi-layered and progressive defense approaches.

The physical barrier forms the first level of immunity. When the virus in the air enters the body through breathing, nose hairs, as well as a large amount of mucus in the throat and trachea and bronchus, can prevent the virus from infecting the cells of the lung tissue. In addition, the surface of the trachea and bronchus is a layer of mucosa consisting of ciliated epithelial cells, mucus-secreting goblet cells, and immune cells. When the virus invades, cough and sputum help to expel the virus out of human body.

Complements in the blood form the second level of immunity. In the blood, there is a protective system of proteins called the complement system. When the virus enters the cell, the complement system is activated, producing two antiviral effects, one is that complement mediates holes in the surface of the infected cell and induces the death of the infected cell, as well as the virus; the second is that complement mediates macrophages to engulf the infected cells, thereby degrading the engulfed cells together with the virus inside the macrophages.

A senior scientist from Creative Biolabs, a leading biologics company offering comprehensive one-stop services for Complement Therapeutics introduced that “complement C4 can neutralize some enveloped viruses and prevent them from entering cells. Complement components are mainly produced by the cells of the liver. When liver function cannot perform well, the amount of complement production will decrease, thereby reducing the complement's defense against virus invasion.”

Lung epithelial cells form the third level of immunity. Lung tissue epithelial cells express the ACE2 protein receptor. Via ACE2, the novel coronavirus enters normal lung tissue cells. However, for this kind of invasion, there is an antiviral mechanism called activates type I interferon to prevent the virus from replicating in the cell.

The above three levels basically can only play a supporting role. To truly control the virus infection, we must rely on the body's immune cells. Immune cells can be divided into two categories, one of which is called innate immune cells, including macrophages, dendritic cells, and natural killer cells, which form the fourth level of immunity. When the virus invades, the innate immune cells also feel the stimulus of the virus and respond, including phagocytosis and degradation of virus particles by macrophages, release of type I interferon by dendritic cells and killing of virus-infected cells by natural killer cells, etc.

Another type of immune cells is called acquired immune cells, that is, T cells and B cells, which form the fifth level of immunity. They are the main force and core force of the anti-virus army. When the invading virus breaks through the mucous barrier of the respiratory tract and enters the lung epithelial cells, it is amplified in the infected cells, and then the new virus particles can flow back with the lymph fluid and enter the nearby lymph nodes, which gather a large number of B cells and T cells. T cell’s killing ability is very powerful for one T cell can kill many infected cells in succession. Therefore, the ultimate control of virus infection depends on T cells.

Immunity, as a body's ability to ward off plague, has been widely known by the general public. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has made it more widely spread in the news media. Currently, global scientists are sparing no effort to find a treatment for the novel coronavirus, and for the public, getting adequate sleep, exercising regularly and eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables can help to boost individual’s immune system.

 

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