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Article: The immune system (Part 1 of 2): T cells, B cells, and cytokines.
- Article from:
- HIV Treatment: ALERTS!
- Article date:
- April 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 The Center for AIDS: Hope & Remembrance Project. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The immune system is a complex system whose main job is to protect the body from foreign invaders like bacteria or viruses. The immune system works by distinguishing between the body's own materials (including a fetus, in the case of pregnancy) and things that are foreign to the body. To accomplish its mission, the immune system has a large army with which to work, including T cells, B cells, and cytokines (substances produced by cells in the body to communicate with or affect other cells).
T cells (also called T lymphocytes) are white blood cells made in the thymus ("T" is for thymus). The thymus is an organ in the chest that makes and stores T cells until they ...