The T Cell Factor

By Peter Suich

What is a T Cell?

T cells are a group of white blood cells in the immune system that help the body defend itself against viruses, bacteria, and cancerous cells.

T Cell

Image by Random42MedicalAnimation

Helper T Cells

• There are two basic subsets of T cells: cytotoxic T cells and helper T cells.

• Helper T cells release molecules (cytokines) into the bloodstream to warn the immune system of the presence of a dangerous cell or virus.

Cytotoxic T Cells

• Cytotoxic T cells attach themselves to other cells in the body; if a cytotoxic T cell learns that a cell is diseased or pathogenic it will do one of two things:

• Force the cell to commit suicide (apoptosis).or

• Secrete enzymes that will kill the cell.

What Do Cytotoxic T Cells Fight?

• One of a cytotoxic T cell’s main functions is to destroy cells that have become cancerous (cells that are producing uncontrollably).

• Cytotoxic T cells monitor other cells and will eliminate cells that have been infected with a virus, or eliminate the virus itself.

Virus

Image by Phoebus87

T Cell Conclusion

• T cells are an important part of the immune system.

• Some T cells, helper T cells, sound the immune system’s alarm.

• Other T cells, cytotoxic T cells, destroy cancerous and virus-infested cells.

• Thanks, T cells!

Credits

• The virus photo is a modified form of an image uploaded on en.wikipedia by the user Phoebus87.

• The T cell photo is a modified form of an image uploaded to photobucket.com by the user Random42MedicalAnimation.

• The image used as this presentation’s template was uploaded to photobucket.com by the user Matantedodo.

The End