Question

Explain the role of innate immune cells such as macrophages and dendritic cells in adaptive immunity in regards to cancer.

Answer 1

The action of macrophages and dendritic cells against cancerous cell are the following:

1. When Macrophage comes to contact with the cancerous cell and the surface feature of cancer cells suggests that it is abnormal. So macrophages began to phagocytose the tumor cell.

2. Then the macrophage began to digest tumor cells and the digested packet of tumor cells stored in macrophages.

3. Macrophage either transform itself into a dendritic cell or give the parts of tumor cells to other immune cells.

4. Dendritic cells began to mature, additional markers began to appear on the surface of the dendritic cells so that it can communicate with other immune cells.

5. When dendritic cell began to mature it also moves and migrate to the lymph node.

6. At the lymph node, dendritic cell comes to contact with large no of lymphocytes and other immune cells.

7.If the maturation of dendritic cells complete, it can give information of tumor cells to the cytotoxic T lymphocyte through co-stimulatory molecules present at the dendritic surface.

8. The cytotoxic cell began to proliferate and produce a large colony of cytotoxic T lymphocyte which has the power to recognize the tumor cells.

9. This cytotoxic T cell migrates to the tumor cells and kills them.

10. In the future also, if the cytotoxic T cell comes to contact with any cell that has the same surface as the original cancer cell will be killed.