Importance of knowing your Lymphatic system in the present COVID Endemic-by Harold Gunatillake
Lymphatic system is an additional subsystem ‘pipeline’ network to the circulatory system that has a hand in glove relationship.
Lymphatic system is composed of a network of minute vessels like threads, and lymph glands. If you compared to a railway line system, lymph glands are the railway stations, and the threads are the network of railway lines.
What its importance to know in the present crisis of Covid endemic, is that to feel confident that you have an inbuilt defensive system to defend your body by destroying the COVID virus even before vaccinations. It does this by defending the body against infections by supplying disease-fighting cells called lymphocytes.
The main function is to help maintain fluid balance in the body by collecting excess extracellular fluid bringing them back to the veins in the circulatory system.
Circulatory system pumps blood from the left lower chamber of the heart throughout the body, and through the capillaries that forms the minute vessels leaks out the plasma with nutrients to feed the cellular component of the body. The portion of the blood plasma that escapes is called interstitial or extra cellular fluid, and contains oxygen, glucose, amino acids, and other nutrients needed by the tissue cells.
This leaked out plasma is watery and is labelled as lymph
The lymphatic system moves fluids from the interstitial spaces, i.e., the spaces between the cells, towards the circulatory system as lymph.
Then the lymphatic capillaries collect lymph fluid from the tissues, which allows them to regulate the pressure of the interstitial fluid.
If there is any blockage of the lymphatic capillaries due to infections, trauma, cancer cells, or weak heart, the lymph collects in the intercellular spaces and results in swelling called oedema.
Our security system
In addition to serving as a drainage network, the lymphatic system helps protect the body against infection by producing white blood cells called lymphocytes, that helps to rid the body of disease-causing microorganisms including viruses like the SARS Covid 2.
The lymph organs, and tissues of the lymphatic system in major sites of production like the bone marrow produce two types of lymphocytes- the T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes, also referred to as B cells and T cells.
These cells encounter foreign organisms like the present SARS CoV2 virus in the lymphatic system and they are destroyed.
These lymphoid gland and tissues are divided into primary lymphoid organs such as the thymus gland and bone marrow, where T cells and B cells undergo maturation, and the secondary lymphoid organs include lymph nodes, spleen and small masses of lymph tissue called Peyer’s patches in the appendix, tonsils where further differentiation of the B and the T cells occur. These secondary lymphoid organs help in maturation of the lymphocytes, and they also trap antigens like the viruses for exposure to both T and B cells.
So, in the humans the thymus and bone marrow play the key roles in our inbuilt immune system.
The T cells formed in the bone marrow are transported to the thymus gland in the lower part of the neck behind the sternum bone.
Thymus gland with age shrinks and become non-functional, and as a result the T cell production decreases with age.
The spleen lies in the abdominal cavity and the main function is to filter blood and bring blood in contact with the lymphocytes.
It also has cells called macrophages that remove bacteria and viruses from the circulation.
The spleen stores B and T cells where they are exposed to antigens or foreign germs and produce antibody secreting plasma cells.
T helper cells differentiate into helper T cells, and cytotoxic cells or become memory T cells.
They are then sent to peripheral tissues or circulate in the blood stream or in the lymphatic system.
In the presence of an antigen like the COVID virus, helper T cells secrete chemical messengers called cytokines, which stimulate the B cells to form plasma cells. These plasma cells produce antibodies to fight the antigens.
T Helper Cells plays an important role in the adaptive immune system. They help B cells to make antibodies and induce macrophages to develop enhanced microbicidal activity.
T helper cells also recruit neutrophils, eosinophil, and basophils to site of infection and inflammation
Recapitulating your security workforce giving you full protection against invading pathogens are:
Lymphocytes- White Blood Cells.
Two main types- B cells and T cells
B cells produce antibodies that attack invading bacteria, viruses, and toxins.
B cells differentiate into plasma cells and memory cells
Plasma cells-secrete antibodies. Plays a significant role in the adaptive immune response, namely, being the main cells responsible for humoral immunity i.e., produce antibodies against a specific antigen like the SarsCoV2 virus.
What do memory cells derived from B cells do?
These are cells derived from B cells to form the memory cells that remember the same pathogen for faster antibody production in future infections from the same pathogen.
They are found mainly in the bone marrow, the tonsils and spleen.
T cells differentiated from T lymphocytes
T cells destroy the body’s own cells that have themselves been taken over by viruses or become cancerous. They are major components of the adaptive immune system.
Their role includes directly killing infected host cells, activating other immune cells by producing cytokines and regulating immune response.
Helper T cells: They are the most important cells in the adaptive immunity, as they are required for almost all adaptive immune responses. They help activate B cells to secrete antibodies and macrophages to destroy ingested microbes.
They also help activate cytotoxic T cells to kill infected target cells.
Macrophages: these are specialized cells involved in the detection, phagocytosis- i.e., gulping and destruction of bacteria, viruses, and other harmful organisms.
Cytotoxic T cells: These cells destroy virus-infected cells, tumor cells
So, this is your security officer.
How can you look after the immune system to safeguard and protect your health?
Dr Hannon, Specialist Registrar in Geriatric Medicine at Cork University Hospital (CUH) says while it has been an extremely challenging twelve months for everyone the vaccination programmed offers us all a ray of hope and a chance to get back to living our lives.
“We know from years of research that our lifestyle and health habits influence our levels of immunity and one of the things we can do to maximize our body’s immune response to the vaccine is to do more exercise and get fitter.” We know that 150 minutes per week of brisk walking can cause a 30% improvement in immunity levels. For optimum physical health older adults should aim to be active daily.
Hope this video talk was useful.
Until we meet again -Goodbye and stay locked in.
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