Page 158 - The Cell in 40 Topics

The Cell in 40 Topics

over, destroying the cells that the others could not identify and which con-
tain the viruses (Figure 124).
Once the victory has been won, the suppressor T-cells call a halt to the
fighting (Figure 125). The war is now over, but it will never be forgotten.
Memory cells have by now recognized the foe, and these cells remain in the

body for years. When the same enemy is ever encountered again, they will
trigger a defense response that is rapid and effective (Figure 126).
The heroes of this war receive no military training, and are not ratio-
nal human beings, but rather tiny cells, millions of which would still fail to
fill the space occupied by a period on this page.
Furthermore, this army with its astonishing properties is not limited
to fighting alone. It produces all the weaponry to be used during the war,
draws up the battle plans and strategies, and cleans up the “battlefield”
once the fighting is over.

Figure 124.
NK—that is, natural killer— cells destroy the viruses that the killer T-
cells have missed.

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