Adaptive immune system

The part of the immune system that recognizes specific antigens, mounts targeted responses, and can retain immunological memory.

Antigen presentation: The display of antigen fragments on cell-surface molecules for recognition by T cells. It connects captured antigens to T-cell activation.
Lymphocyte: A white blood cell that includes B cells, T cells, and natural killer cells. B and T lymphocytes are the adaptive system’s main cellular actors.
Vaccination: The administration of an antigen or its instructions to induce protective immune responses. It trains adaptive immunity to respond to a pathogen without requiring the disease itself.
Innate immune system: The rapid, broadly responsive defenses that recognize common features of microbes and tissue damage. It provides immediate defenses while adaptive responses develop.
T-cell receptor: A receptor on T cells that recognizes specific antigen fragments bound to major histocompatibility complex molecules. Its antigen-specific binding initiates cellular responses.
Immunoglobulin: A protein family that includes antibodies and B-cell receptors, with antigen-binding regions. Its variable regions provide much of the system’s antigen specificity.
Monoclonal antibody: A laboratory-produced antibody population whose molecules bind the same target. These therapies harness precise antigen binding for treatment and diagnosis.
Natural killer cell: An innate lymphocyte that can kill stressed, infected, or tumor cells without antigen-specific receptors. It is a lymphocyte that acts without the adaptive system’s receptor specificity.
B-cell receptor: A membrane-bound antibody that lets a B cell bind a specific antigen. It enables B cells to recognize intact antigens and begin antibody responses.
Major histocompatibility complex: A set of cell-surface proteins that display peptide fragments for T-cell recognition. MHC molecules present the fragments that T-cell receptors inspect.

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