Page 43 - The Miracle in the Immune System

Intelligent Weapons: The Antibodies 41

would eliminate the antigen that enters the body.
Therefore, the cell also knows the properties of the
millions of antigens entering the body.
No intellect in this world can produce a design of
such unparalleled perfection. But cells only the size of a
hundredth of a millimeter can do so.
So, how has the cell learned such a special system?
The truth is that no cell has the opportunity to
"learn" a biological function in the real sense. This is be-
cause the cell does not possess the ability to perform
such an act at birth, nor has it the chance to develop the

Activated B-cells

Free antibody

Plasma cell

Antigen
When millions of copies have
been made, most B-cells stop
dividing and become plasma
cells, a type of cell whose
interior is packed with the
apparatus to make one prod-
uct - antibodies. Some of the
dividing B cells continue divid-
Memory cell
ing indefinitely, and become
memory cells. Free antibod-
ies manufactured by plas-
ma cells roam around in the
blood and lymph fluid. When
an antibody binds onto its target antigen, it changes
shape. It is the shape change of the antibody that
makes it "stick" to the outside of macrophages.