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Innate Immunity

Innate immunity is genetically-based and non-specific. It is the immunity that a body is born with and carries throughout life in its same basic form. It protects the body against the constant risk of pathogens, through the use of easily mobilized defenses that are able to recognize a wide variety of threats.

The first line of defense of innate immunity is also its largest and, possibly, most important: the skin. The skin creates a physical barrier against infection by denying a pathogen contact to a host. Along with the skin, the mucus that lines the airway passages and gastrointestinal tract also acts as a buffer, trapping foreign bodies before they are able to penetrate the system.

Secondary defense includes cells known as phagocytes – the most significant of which are called macrophages – that attract and engulf foreign bodies so as to contain and digest them. Anti-microbial proteins may also be utilized by an immune system that is trying to contain a pathogen. And, true to its name, a complement system works in conjunction with the phagocytes by coating microbes with molecules in order to facilitate engulfment. Phagocytes that have successfully completed their work exit the body in the form of pus.

Book Resources On Innate Immunity

The Biology and Pathology of Innate Immunity Mechanisms by Alan B. Ezekowitz
How the Immune System Works by Lauren Sompayrac

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