Antigenicity, adaptive immune system

Parallel to orchestrating acute inflammatory processes by providing an optimal milieu of cytokines, mediators, and adhesion molecules in order to recruit and activate effector cells to the site of infection, dendritic cells also setve as professional antigen-presenting cells for cells of the adaptive immune system ( antigen presentation ... 

The specific, or adaptive, immune system is characterized by memory, specificity, and the ability to distinguish self from nonself. The important cells of the adaptive immune system are the lymphocytes and antigen-presenting cells that are... 

Although closely related, monocytes/macrophages (MO) possess features that are distinct from DCs. Due to their limited expression of T-cell costimulatory molecules, MO are not able to prime T cells de novo, but rather stimulate effector/memory T cells by the secretion of cytokines, which support T-cell proliferation. As DCs, MO differentiate from myeloid precursors and form a heterogeneous population of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) that link the innate and adaptive immune systems. However, their ability to interact with T cells via MHC class II TCR interaction(s) as well as engagement of T-cell costimulatory receptors on their surface, makes close contact between MO and Tregs likely to occur in vivo. 

The adaptive immune system has the capacity to learn and to establish memory, thereby enabling it to respond more efficiently to a previously encountered unwanted antigen—an important property central to the therapeutic effectiveness of vaccines. 

When the innate immune response is inadequate to cope with infection, the adaptive immune system is mobilized by cues from the innate response. The adaptive immune system has a number of characteristics that contribute to its success in eliminating pathogens. These include the ability (1) to respond to a variety of antigens, each in a specific manner (2) to discriminate between... 

The adaptive immune system relies on the antibody-antigen interaction, which provides the key immunochemical elements and the basis of immunoassays. 

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