El Sistema Inmune Innato II: la primera respuesta frente a la infección

Abstract

The settling of a disease in an animal is not only the consequence of the invasion by a pathogen, but also the immune state of the individual is decisive. The innate immunity is the first response of an animal to a foreign microorganism, trying to eliminate the infection or to contain it until a more specific and effective immune response develops, the adaptive immunity. The main components of the innate immunity are the physical, chemical and biological barriers, the phagocytic cells, certain lymphocytes and natural killer cells or NK, and soluble factors, including the components of the complement and the cytokines that participate in phagocytosis and inflammation. The innate immune response is non-specific, that is to say, it lacks immunological memory and it develops by non-specific mechanisms, unable to distinguish the antigenic differences of the different types of microorganisms. In fact, a general response exists to protect the body as a whole: the local inflammatory processes and the systemic “acute phase response”, coordinated by the cytokines secreted by macrophages, which create more suitable organic conditions to fight against the different pathogens. But, in addition to this generalized response to different foreign agents, a characteristic innate response for each type of pathogen (bacteria and their products, fungi, viruses, and parasites) is going to develop.