What is the difference between innate immunity and adaptive immunity?
A. Adaptive immunity is involved in our response to vaccines and provides long-term protective immunity. T cells and B cells are important parts of adaptive immune response. B cells produce antibodies in response to antigens from pathogens like bacteria or viruses. T cells release toxins to kill pathogens. The innate immune system responds quickly to pathogens in a non-specific manner. Cells of the innate immune system like macrophages and neutrophils engulf pathogens and kill them but don’t retain a memory of those pathogens. Q. How does vitamin D help kill pathogens? A. We discovered that vitamin D turns on genes in macrophages and neutrophils. Those genes make small peptides called cathelicidin that punch holes in the pathogen’s membrane and disable it. Q. Is vitamin D absolutely required for the cathelicidin peptide to be made? A. Yes. The model that seems to be developing is that activation of toll-like receptorsproteins that recognize microbial moleculescause macrophages to ramp
