Glossary
Not so exciting but they always help
Adhesion molecules: proteins present on the surface of cells that help other cells to stick to them.
Atherosclerosis: Disease of the blood vessels that leads to hardening and narrowing. Can result in heart attacks, blood clots and stroke.
Bone marrow: tissue found inside large bones that contains blood stem cells, immature cells that can divide and mature to become any type of blood cells, including immune cells. Some types of immune cells also reside in the bone marrow.
Cardiovascular disease: Disease of the heart and/or blood vessels
Chemokine/chemoattractant: small proteins made by cells that signal other cells to move towards them (chemotaxis). Different types of cells have different chemokine receptors (proteins attached to the cells that bind to chemokines), this means that only particular cells will move towards a given chemokine.
Cytotoxic: Substance that is toxic to cells. Releasing cytotoxic molecules is one of the ways by which killer immune cells kill their targets.
HLA (human leukocyte antigen): Flags that cells stick out to show the proteins that they are making. This is used for screening by immune cells.
Immune System: Your body’s defense system against invading bugs (e.g. bacteria and viruses). There are specialised cells that work in the immune system called immune cells.
Innate immune cells: Cells of the immune system that are good at killing and eating invading bugs (e.g. bacteria and viruses). These cells tend not to live very long (hours to days) and don’t remember a bug they have encountered before. They often form the first response to invading bugs but, because they have been around for a long time, a lot of bugs have developed ways to avoid or hide from these cells. There are many types of innate immune cells including good killers (neutrophils, natural killer cells) and good eaters (monocytes, dendritic cells, macrophages).
Killer T cells/ CD8+ T cells/ cytotoxic T cells: A sub-type of immune cells that are specialist killers. These are among the immune cells that can form memory.
Leukocytes: cells of the immune system, a.k.a. immune cells or white blood cells.
Ligand: a molecule that binds reversibly to another molecule. Usually it is a smaller molecule that binds to a larger complex or receptor to induce a biological response.
Liver: organ that filters blood from the digestive tract, breaks down and removes some toxins and drugs, makes bile to help digestion, controls storage and use energy sources (i.e. fats, proteins and carbohydrates/sugars), makes proteins including factors for blood clotting (stops excessive bleeding).
Lungs: organ for gas exchange, bringing oxygen into the blood and letting out carbon dioxide.
Lymph node: small kidney shaped organs of the immune system that filter lymph, the fluid from spaces between organs and tissues. Lymph nodes are a site for communication between, activation and multiplication of several types of immune cells. Lymph nodes are found throughout the body and can become enlarged during infections, these are the ‘swollen glands’ you often feel for when you have a cold or throat infection.
Lymphatic system: the network of vessels that transport lymph, fluids from the space between organs and tissues. Lymph also contains immune cells (typically white blood cells) and can transport bacteria and cancer cells to the lymph nodes.
Microorganism: An organism (living thing) that is so small you can only see it with a microscope (microscopically small).
Monocytes: A type of immune cell that is good at eating invading bugs (and other things). They are part of the innate immune system. Monocytes can help to activate cells of the adaptive immune system and they can also be involved in inflammation.
Natural killer cells: A sub-type of immune cells that are specialist killers.n These cells are part of the innate immune system.
Neutrophils: A type of immune cell that is a fast mover, usually one of the first responders to an invasion. These are the most abundant immune cells in the human body. Neutrophils are good at eating invading bugs and calling over other immune cells to clear the infection. These cells also contribute to inflammation and are one of the cells involved in asthma and allergy.
Organism: Living thing
Spleen: organ that filters blood, it removes old red blood cells and recycles their iron, it is home to several types of immune cells, helps to remove some types of bacteria (bugs that have infected the body) and is a site for communication between and activation of several types of immune cells. It is the largest organ of the lymphatic system (the system for moving non-blood fluids from tissues and transports immune cells) and sits to the left or your stomach, just above your left kidney.
