Activity 2
Reflecting on the lesson
Choose one concept in our lesson today, give a brief explanation about the concept and cite how would you apply this learning in your everyday life.
Memories are ethereal parts of our being that can travel anywhere, be at our call at a moment’s notice, and even make us feel human. These thoughts serve as our past learning experiences, allow us to address our present issues, and aid in our future endeavors. As such, memories do not only lie in the cognitive perspective, it is also involved in immunological responses of the body against invaders. In line with the goal of memories, especially happy ones, to help us as we go through difficult times, immunological memory contribute into the resolution of triggers in our immunity.
The memory for specific antigens that have triggered immunological responses in the past is a hallmark of immunity. This response forms in relation to the presence of long-lasting antibodies and very long-lived lymphocytes that emerge during clonal selection of antigen-stimulated B cells and T cells. Herewith, immunological memory is a cardinal feature of adaptive immunity that allows for a quick, efficient and dramatic response to the reinvasion of the same microbes, whether cell-mediated or antibody-mediated. At first, only a few cells have the correct specificity to respond, and several days are needed to build up maximum intensity. After that initial encounter, as thousands of memory cells exist, these cells can proliferate and differentiate into helper T cells, cytotoxic T cells, or plasma cells within hours, in the event that the same antigen reinvades the body (Tortora & Derrickson, 2020).
With this, immunological memory provides the rationale for the development of vaccines against certain microbes. For instance, in the COVID-19 pandemic, some vaccines like Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna make use of messenger RNA (mRNA) that codes for the virus’ spike protein. Once this protein is made by the ribosomes, the cells destroy the mRNA, and display pieces of the spike protein on its surface for the immune cells to see. This process triggers the immunological response to produce antibodies to the spikes, recognize and remember them, and destroy the real COVID-19 virus that may invade the body in the future (Levenson & Howard, 2020). Consequently, the body recovers faster, and has thousands of memory cells that are ready to attack.
It is fascinating how both the mind and the body remembers the encounters, no matter how small, such as microbes, or big these events are. In the future, new diseases and illnesses may arise and prevail; however, it is relieving that the study of immunity and immunological responses allow immunologists the possibility to amend and treat them.