Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell that plays a vital role in the immune system by helping the body fight infection and disease. When examined under a microscope, lymphocytes are bigger in size but fewer in numbers than red blood cells. Lymphocytes are round and are almost entirely composed of a nucleus. With the proper staining, the nucleus of a lymphocyte is dark purple, while the surrounding jelly-like fluid (called the cytoplasm) is a lighter pink.
Like all blood cells, lymphocytes begin their life’s journey in the spongy, soft tissue located in the center of your bones called bone marrow. Once lymphocytes are formed, they travel to and perform various functions within the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is an open network of vessels, organs, and tissues that work together to protect the body from foreign invaders, maintain body fluid levels, and remove cellular waste.
There are two main types of lymphocytes, called T cells and B cells. They both contribute to the adaptive immunity (the immune response that develops following exposure to foreign invader) and perform different functions in the immune system to protect your body from infection.
B cell lymphocytes are antibody-driven immunity. Antibodies are proteins specific to each foreign invader the body encounters. They recognize the invader by a protein on its surface, called an antigen. Antibody-driven immunity is a tailored response that can more effectively fight infection. B cells don’t kill foreign invaders themselves. Instead, they release antibodies that attach to the antigen of the invader. By doing so, it signals other immune cells to the invader for destruction.
T cell lymphocytes are cell-mediated immunity. Unlike B cells, this is a type of immunity that does not involve antibodies but instead directly targets and kills foreign cells. In general, there are three types of T cells: cytotoxic, helper, and regulatory. Once stimulated by the appropriate antigen, helper T cells secrete chemical messengers called cytokines, which help your other immune cells. Some helper T cells help B cells make antibodies against foreign invaders. Others help activate cytotoxic T cells. Regulatory T cells act to control immune reactions, hence their name. Sometimes, regulatory T cells prevent harmful responses from occurring. Cytotoxic T cells attach to antigens on infected or abnormal cells. Then, they kill the infected cells by making holes in their cell membranes and inserting enzymes into the cells.
Over the past decade, new cancer treatments are being tested and approved, and new ways of working with the immune system such as immunotherapy are being discovered at a very fast pace. One form of immunotherapies, called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, has generated substantial excitement among researchers and oncologists. In CAR T-cell therapies, T cells from the patient are collected and genetically engineered in the lab to produce proteins on their surface called chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR. The CAR recognizes, bind and destroy specific cancer cells more effectively. Since 2017, six CAR T-cell therapies have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA. All are approved only for the treatment of blood cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma.
We provide Natural killer cell immunotherapy which can be used to treat blood cancer and solid cancer.
To learn more about our immunotherapy, visit www.nkbiocell.com or contact us at 012-931 9877.
Click here for more information: