Sponsored by The two potent weapons of acquired immunity are the antibody and the T-cell. Antibodies Antibodies are protein molecules that move freely in the bloodstream. They are manufactured by white blood cells in response to the presence of molecules on the surface of the disease-causing microorganism. These molecules are known as antigens . Antibodies react chemically with these antigens in such a way that the microorganism or toxin is neutralised and destroyed before a cell is infected.
T lymphocytes T-cells.
These white blood cells recognise certain antigens produced by microorganisms and kill cells that harbour them. If an invading microorganism evades the antibodies and infects a cell, the T-cells will recognise the infected cell and kill it. Thus the two weapons of acquired immunity, the antibody and the T-cell, complement each other. Once an infection has been overcome, antibodies and T-cells remain in the body, often for years and sometimes for life, acting as a kind of memory . If the microorganism attacks again, these antibodies remember it.