How your immune system works

The immune system is one of the most complex parts of the human body - an intricate network of cells and molecules evolved over the course of hundreds of thousands of years to protect us from the dangers of the outside environment.

Learn about the stages of our immune response, the types of cell and the difference between our innate immune system and our adaptive immune system - and why vaccines are key to helping our adaptive immune system fight disease - in this short explainer video.

If you’re a UK taxpayer, your contributions have helped fund the work of UK-CIC, and years of research into the immune system, via UK Research and Innovation — the funding body that allocates government funds for research — and the Medical Research Council.

In the fight against the coronavirus, the immune system plays a central role. Because it's a new virus, our adaptive immune system didn't recognise it when it appeared, making it all the more important we had a vaccine to prime the immune system and warn those B-cells and T-cells to be ready.

And just as our immune system evolved over hundreds of thousands of years, so did the pathogens that infect us. So it is unsurprising that the SARS-CoV-2 virus seems to have a few tricks up its sleeve to evade our immune defences.

It seems to have a ‘stealth mode’ that can delay the launch of the innate immune system, particularly by inhibiting the production of interferons. Slower activation of the innate immune system means the adaptive immune system also kicks in late; plenty of time for the virus to replicate within our cells without any interferon interference.

There are also still many unknowns that form the basis of important research questions. Why do some people develop serious complications and others don’t? Why are older people more susceptible? Why do some younger patients develop serious neurological conditions, months after seemingly recovering?

New research is giving us more insight into how the virus affects our immune system but there's still a lot to learn.

#immunesystem #scienceexplained #dendriticcells #adaptiveimmunesystem #innateimmunesystem #weareUKRI

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We are UK Research and Innovation, the body that allocates government funds for research. If you're a UK tax payer, your contributions help fund the work we showcase on our channel. And if you liked this video, follow us on these channels:

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