🧵 Innate Immunity—The Unsung Heroes of Our Immune Defense👇 1/10 👋 Did you know your body has a rapid-response “first line” immune army that works before antibodies? This is #InnateImmunity—crucial not just in fighting infection, but in cancer, clotting, & even autoimmunity.
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2/10 🟣 Dendritic Cells: The “reporters” that spot invaders and bring the news to T cells. Clinically, they bridge infections and vaccine responses—and play a surprising role in cancer immunotherapy!
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3/10 🔵 NK Cells: The “silent assassins.” When cells get infected or turn cancerous, NK cells pounce—no need for antibodies or ‘permission.’ Their teamwork with dendritic cells boosts our antiviral and antitumor defenses.
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4/10 ⚡ Neutrophils & NETs: When bacteria strike, neutrophils build sticky nets (NETs) to trap invaders. But too many nets? These can cause clots, inflammation, and worsen things like COVID, lupus, and cancer.
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5/10 🧬 NETs in Disease: We now check for NETs to predict risk of clots, strokes, and even cancer. New research aims to target NETs for therapy!
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6/10 🚦 Checkpoints & Immunity: Some of immunology’s biggest breakthroughs come from unleashing the immune system—checkpoint inhibitors work partly by waking up innate cells as well as T cells, but can cause fierce side effects.
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7/10 🦠 CAR-T Therapy & Next-Gen Cells: CAR-T cells are making waves in cancer and even autoimmunity. Soon, new cellular therapies might harness NK cells or even reprogram innate responses!
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8/10 🌬️ Innate Immunity & Fibrosis: Overactive innate immunity (think: macrophages, pDCs) can trigger fibrosis in lungs and skin (as in scleroderma). Scientists are now trialing drugs to slow or reverse this.
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9/10 🧬 Precision Immunology: Genetic differences in our innate system can dictate infection severity, clot risk, and drug responses. Personalized immunotherapies are on the horizon.
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10/10 🚨 Take-Home: If you see unexplained infections, blood clots, or cytokine storms, suspect a problem in the innate immune system! These cells work in stealth, but understanding them can transform care.
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