#CBRSciLitWeek: How do immune cells travel through your body?

September 18, 2022

For Science Literacy Week 2022, some members of our CBR Knowledge Translation Committee have joined forces to co-create a social media campaign, sharing blood facts and celebrating science with #CBRSciLitWeek. More posts will be shared throughout the week!

Immune cells circulate through the blood, peripheral tissues, lymphatics and lymph nodes to patrol for and respond to signs of infection.

 

By: Ahmed Kabil, PhD Student, McNagny Lab

Your immune system must be able to respond to signs of infection or injury, whether they occur on your arm, your leg, your face, or elsewhere. So how do immune cells actually get to the right place in your body?

Many immune cells travel through blood vessels as well as channels called lymphatic vessels, using them like little highways. Lymphatic vessels are spread throughout your body and are interconnected with small, bean-shaped glands called lymph nodes

These vessels carry out an important job in your immune system. They are responsible for circulating lymph, a clear fluid that contains immune cells and important, invader-identifying particles called antigens, to help identify infection or injury.

Lymph drains out of tissues and into the lymphatic vessels, along with waste products, bacteria and damaged cells. The fluid then travels to the closest lymph nodes to be filtered and cleaned out.

Imagine that you have an ear or throat infection. Lymph would drain out of that area and into the lymph nodes under your jaw. which would contain high concentrations of immune cells called T and B lymphocytes, which undergo activation required for the control of infection. This process enables immune cells to patrol the body for signs of infection by traveling through the blood and lymphatic vessels.

 

What is Science Literacy Week?

Science Literacy Week showcases the many ways kids and families can explore and enjoy the diversity of Canadian science. Libraries, museums, science centres, schools and not-for-profits come together to highlight the books, movies, podcasts and events that share exciting stories of the science, discoveries and ingenuity shaping our lives. It’s about each and everyone’s unique relationship with science and how they live it.