Page 119 - The Miracle of the Blood and Heart

Blood: The Incomparable
Liquid of Life

This duty falls to yet another class of blood cells: The suppres-
sor T-cell enables the immune system to return to normal by
calming down the defense cells. Substances released by the
suppressor T-cells slow down the actions of the B-cells and
cause the killer T-cells to stop their war. They reduce the num-
bers of helper T-cells and calm down the body's defenses.
The war is now over, leaving many dead cells, bacterial
debris and ruins all around. At this point the phagocytes enter
the picture. Phagocytes spread over the battleground and
clean up all the debris and dead cells. During this mopping-
up operation, they also apply first aid to damaged tissues
around them, and renew damaged regions.
The T and B-cells die within a few days of the end of the
battle. A small group of survivors continue to live for a long
time, however. These cells are witnesses to what has taken
place inside the body, and their survival is of the greatest
importance to the survival of subsequent generations of cells.
They identify the recognition signal of the enemy—in other
words, the antigen that caused the war to begin. They are
therefore no longer referred to as defense cells, but as memo-
ry cells. The immunity acquired to a virus that has previously
attacked the body comes about thanks to these memory cells.
On any subsequent occasion, they will meet a cell of the same
type that has entered the body and will ensure that it is elimi-
nated before it is allowed to multiply or do any damage.
The "enemies" referred to here are two different cells that
are quite unaware of one another. One lives in the body, and
the other is a visitor from the outside. How is it that these
different cells can possess such an ability to recognize
each other? How, and through what decision, does
Adnan
Oktar

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