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Microbial Physiology Practical-1

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Humoral vs Cell-Mediated Immunity

Article Published: January 25, 2021 | Jonathan Dornell, PhD

Humoral immunity and cell-mediated immunity are two types of an adaptive


immune response that enable the human body to defend itself in a targeted way
against harmful agents such as bacteria, viruses and toxins. Whilst there is some
overlap between these arms of the immune response - both rely on the functions
of lymphoid cells - there are also some important differences.

Contents

Humoral vs cell-mediated immunity


What is humoral immunity?

What is an antibody?

How are antibodies produced?

What do antibodies do to fight pathogens?

What is cell-mediated immunity?

What lymphocytes are involved in cell-mediated immunity?

Humoral vs cell-mediated immunity: table

One can acquire humoral immunity to a specific infection or disease if


administered with antibodies from someone who was previously been exposed to
the same infection, circumventing the humoral response. However, antibody-
mediated immunity involves a set of molecular components and processes that
differ from cell-mediated immunity. In this article, we define humoral immunity
and cell-mediated immunity, discussing the different immune processes, purposes
and important cell types.

Humoral vs cell-mediated immunity

Humoral immunity produces antigen-specific antibodies and is primarily


driven by B cells. Cell-mediated immunity on the other hand does not
depend on antibodies for its adaptive immune functions and is primarily
driven by mature T cells, macrophages and the release of cytokines in
response to an antigen.
What is humoral immunity?

Humoral immunity is an antibody-mediated response that occurs when foreign


material - antigens - are detected in the body. This foreign material typically
includes extracellular invaders such as bacteria. This mechanism is primarily driven
by B cell lymphocytes, a type of immune cell that produces antibodies after the
detection of a specific antigen.

Article

Innate vs Adaptive Immunity


READ MORE

Naïve B cells are lymphocytes that circulate throughout the body in the lymphatic
system. These lymphocytes express a variety of antigen-specific molecules that are
essential for the detection of infectious agents in the human body. Whenever naïve
B cells encounter an antigen in the lymphatic system, they undergo a
differentiation process that leads to the creation of memory B cells and effector B
cells.
A diagram showing humoral and cellular immunity.

During this differentiation, memory B cells and effector B cells produce the same
antigen-specific molecules as their parent naïve B cell. With the help of T cell
lymphocytes, in turn activated by MHC class II receptors that recognize microbial-
associated antigens, the activated memory B cells express these antigen-specific
molecules on their surface while the effector B cells secrete these molecules in the
blood to bind the antigen of interest.

What is an antibody?

Antibodies are heavy proteins that are approximately 10 nanometers in size.


These molecules are produced by B cells in order to identify and neutralize
harmful agents such as infectious bacteria, fungi, and viruses. These Y-shaped
proteins contain antigen-binding sites that specifically bind to their target
antigens.
Once antibodies effectively bind to their target antigen, they can either
neutralize their target antigen directly by blocking normal antigen binding or
they can induce the recruitment of other immune cells or molecules that
promote the antigens removal or destruction. In mammals,
such antibodies come in a variety of forms commonly known as isotypes.

How are antibodies produced?

Each B cell produces its own set of antibodies with unique antigen-specific binding
sites. Initially, naïve B cells produce antibodies that remain bound to the cellular
surface so that their exposed antigen-binding sites can detect potential pathogens,
toxins and foreign material. This surface-bound form of an antibody is known as an
immunoglobulin.

When an antigen matching the antigen-binding site binds to a naïve or memory B


cell, it activates the B cell to produce and secrete more antigen-specific antibodies.
Once a B cell fully matures, it is known as a plasma cell and will continue to
produce and secrete antigen-specific antibodies for the remainder of its life cycle.

What do antibodies do to fight pathogens?

Once antibodies are in the blood stream, these free-floating proteins are ready to
function as defensive molecules with direct and indirect immune functions. These
functions include:

• neutralization of infectious agents – via blocking or antibody-dependent


cellular cytotoxicity
• activation of the complement system – compliment dependent cytotoxicity
• binding of foreign substances to be destroyed - opsonization and
phagocytosis
Antibodies neutralize antigens primarily through mechanisms of attachment and
accumulation. For example, the aggregation of neutralizing antibodies upon
antigen-matching viral particles would block this virus’s ability to infect other cells.

Antibodies can also participate in processes that lead to the lysis or killing of
infected or antigen-presenting cells through the activation of the complement
cascade or interaction with effector cells and release of cytokines. The complement
system is a part of innate immunity that enhances the ability of antibodies and
lymphocytes to clear the body of pathogens and infected cells. Lastly, antibodies
that coat pathogens or infected cells can attract (opsonize) and become
internalized by macrophages during phagocytosis.

Humoral immunity depends on lymphocytes to confer protection against infection


through antibody-mediated functions, but it is not the only form of adaptive
immunity that involves bone marrow lymphocytes.

What is cell-mediated immunity?

Unlike humoral immunity, cell-mediated immunity does not depend on


antibodies for its adaptive immune functions. Cell-mediated immunity is primarily
driven by mature T cells, macrophages, and the release of cytokines in response to
an antigen.

T cells involved in cell-mediated immunity rely on antigen-presenting cells that


contain membrane-bound MHC class I proteins in order to recognize intracellular
target antigens. The binding specificity between MHC proteins and foreign antigens
is essential for the maturation and differentiation of naïve T cells into helper or
killer T cells.
Cell-mediated immunity typically comes into play at body sites where cells are
infected by a virus, bacteria, or fungi (intracellular invaders). With the assistance of
MHC class I proteins, T cells can also recognize cancerous cells.

What lymphocytes are involved in cell-mediated immunity?

The main types of lymphocytes involved in cell-mediated immunity include naïve T


cells, helper T cells, killer T cells, and macrophages. Naïve T cells, which have not
yet become activated, circulate in the bloodstream and the lymphatic system.
When they encounter an antigen-presenting cell, these naïve cells become
activated, rapidly proliferating into different T-cell subsets. These subsets perform
different functions – CD4+ helper T cells, for example, release a set of signaling
proteins called cytokines. These cytokines can damage the target cell directly or
help activate “killer” T cells and macrophages. CD8+ killer T cells, also called
cytotoxic T cells, perform direct lysis of target cells, while macrophages, which are
a type of antigen-presenting cell, also play an important role in T-cell activation.

Humoral vs cell-mediated immunity: table

Humoral Cell Mediated

Type Antibody-mediated response T cell-mediated response

Location of antigen-
Site of Activity Extracellular fluids
presenting tissue

Main Cell Types


B cells T cells
Involved

Speed of Onset Fast response upon detection Slow response

Antigen Type Extracellular pathogens Intracellular pathogens,


cancer cells

Method of Antibody-mediated destruction Cell lysis and programed


Removal or neutralization death

MHC Proteins
MHC class II proteins MHC class I proteins
Involved

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