How does the immune system distinguish among pathogens? - Why does the immune system not attack the body or food? - Self tolerance

5 important questions on How does the immune system distinguish among pathogens? - Why does the immune system not attack the body or food? - Self tolerance

What is peripheral tolerance?

It is the immune system's backup mechanism that prevents mature, self-reactive T and B cells from attacking the body's own tissues after they leave the thymus or bone marrow. It is done in the lymph nodes, spleen and peripheral tissues.

What are central tolerance checks of T cells?

1. Positive selection in the cortex: Immature T cells test their receptors against self-MHC, if they can't recognize them, apoptosis

2. Negative selection in the medulla: Surviving T cells are exposed to self antigens, if they recognize them, apoptosis (some moderately self-reactive cells become natural Tregs)

What are central tolerance checks of B cells

Strong binding to self-antigen in the bone marrow can lead to:

- Receptor editing (first attempt to fix itself):  if new receptor is non-self reactive, they survive, otherwise apoptosis via clonal deletion. If they are weak they can also become anergic before exiting to periphery
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What does peripheral tolerance check look like?

Peripheral tolerance: in secondary organs
1. Anergy: The B cell sees self-antigen without danger signals → it becomes functionally silent. Alive but permanently inactive.
2. Apoptosis (clonal deletion) If self-reactivity is strong → cell is killed.
3. Treg suppression: Regulatory T cells shut down self-reactive lymphocytes by: IL-10 TGF-β cell-cell contact This is active immune braking.

What is central tolerance?

It is a critical immune mechanism occurring in primary lymphoid organs (thymus for T cells and bone marrow for B cells) that eliminates immature lymphocytes capable of binding to self-antigens. It is the development stage and the first test.

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