• Question: Is there a another type of main component apart of the white cells

    Asked by Aherrera11 to Sian, Lizzie, Francis, Ben on 5 Mar 2018.
    • Photo: Francis Man

      Francis Man answered on 5 Mar 2018:

      Yes, the immune system is made of more than white blood cells. Platelets for example are very important for immunity. One of their jobs (in addition to stop bleeding) is to help white blood cells migrate from the blood vessels into the tissues where they are needed, and that’s a critical part of immunity.
      The immune system is also made of many barriers that block microbes from getting into the body. The saliva is one example, it’s a sticky substance that simply traps microbes and prevents them from going anywhere else. The skin is also a tough barrier. Even the “good” bacteria that you have on your skin and inside your guts: they form a layer and take up space so that harmful bacteria can’t reach your organs.

    • Photo: Lizzie Wright

      Lizzie Wright answered on 5 Mar 2018:

      I second Francis’ answer – the immune system is very complicated and has lots of components!

      There are also several types of white blood cells, not just one. Each type has a different role and can be triggered in different ways. In medicine now, we are looking at how we can change these different white blood cells to help the body to fight diseases.

    • Photo: Ben Mulhearn

      Ben Mulhearn answered on 5 Mar 2018:

      It is definitely very complicated! It is made up of cells (there are lots of different types of immune cells), proteins (these are dissolved in the blood and are really important as they can act as messengers or have specific functions), and there are also organs which are made up of many cells. As Francis said, organs of the immune system include the barriers (skin, linings of the lung and bowel), and also lymph nodes (these are like meeting places of immune cells where they can communicate with each other and swap important messages). The tonsils and the appendix are also parts of the immune system and have many immune cells in them – although it’s not completely understood they may also be important places where immune cells ‘talk’ to each other.

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