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Concept
Humoral immunity
Summary
Humoral immunity is the aspect of immunity that is mediated by macromolecules - including secreted antibodies, complement proteins, and certain antimicrobial peptides - located in extracellular fluids. Humoral immunity is named so because it involves substances found in the humors, or body fluids. It contrasts with cell-mediated immunity. Humoral immunity is also referred to as antibody-mediated immunity.
The study of the molecular and cellular components that form the immune system, including their function and interaction, is the central science of immunology. The immune system is divided into a more primitive innate immune system and an acquired or adaptive immune system of vertebrates, each of which contain both humoral and cellular immune elements.
Humoral immunity refers to antibody production and the coinciding processes that accompany it, including: Th2 activation and cytokine production, germinal center formation and isotype switching, and affinity maturation and memory cell generation. It also refers to the effector functions of antibodies, which include pathogen and toxin neutralization, classical complement activation, and opsonin promotion of phagocytosis and pathogen elimination.
The concept of humoral immunity developed based on the analysis of antibacterial activity of the serum components. Hans Buchner is credited with the development of the humoral theory. In 1890, Buchner described alexins as "protective substances" that exist in the blood serum and other bodily fluids and are capable of killing microorganisms. Alexins, later redefined as "complements" by Paul Ehrlich, were shown to be the soluble components of the innate response that leads to a combination of cellular and humoral immunity. This discovery helped to bridge the features of innate and acquired immunity.
Following the 1888 discovery of the bacteria that cause diphtheria and tetanus, Emil von Behring and Kitasato Shibasaburō showed that disease need not be caused by microorganisms themselves. They discovered that cell-free filtrates were sufficient to cause disease.
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