Difference Between Innate and Adaptive Immunity: Points, Table, Examples

Difference Between Humoral And Cell Mediated Immunity

Edited By Irshad Anwar | Updated on Nov 06, 2024 08:32 AM IST

The difference between humoral and cell-mediated immunity is that it has its defence mechanism of defending the body against pathogens. Humoral immunity is also known as antibody-mediated immunity where the production of antibodies takes place through B cells. Cell-mediated immunity depends upon T cells where they directly attack and destroy the abnormal and infected cells. Both of them are an important part of the chapter Human Health and Disease class 12th Biology.

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This Story also Contains

Differences Between Humoral And Cell-Mediated Immunity
Humoral Immunity vs Cell-Mediated Immunity
What is Humoral Immunity?
What is Cell-Mediated Immunity?
Tips, Tricks, and Strategies for Humoral and Cell-mediated Immunity

Difference Between Humoral And Cell Mediated Immunity

Differences Between Humoral And Cell-Mediated Immunity

The immune system is the body’s protection against infections and diseases. Immunologically, it is a cellular, tissue, and organ system capable of recognising and eliminating pathogens. Awareness of the immune system is essential, as it plays an important role in achieving and maintaining health. Thus, the two subdivisions of adaptive immunity include

humoral immunity and
cell-mediated immunity,

Their functions characterize these two.

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Humoral Immunity vs Cell-Mediated Immunity

Comprehensive Comparison of Humoral and Cell-Mediated Immunity

Feature	Humoral Immunity	Cell-Mediated Immunity
Definition	Immunity attributed to antibodies in body fluids	Immunity attributed by T cells
Main Components	B cells, plasma cells, antibodies	T cells (helper, cytotoxic, regulatory)
Target Pathogens	Extracellular pathogens (bacteria, viruses)	Intracellular pathogens (virus-infected cells)
Mode of Action	Neutralisation, opsonization, complement activation	Direct killing of infected cells
Memory Cells	Memory B cells	Memory T cells
Response Time	Faster response to pathogens	Slower response requires antigen presentation
Duration of Response	Short to long-term, depending on memory cells	Long-term due to memory T cells
Specificity	Specific to antigens but can bind to similar ones	Highly specific to presented antigens
Examples of Responses	Response to bacterial infections, neutralisation of toxins	Response to viral infections, tumour cell destruction
Primary Function	Protect against extracellular pathogens and toxins	Eliminate intracellular pathogens and abnormal cells
Associated Disorders	Autoimmune diseases like lupus	Autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis
Evolutionary Aspect	Present in all vertebrates	More specialised and complex, evolved in vertebrates

What is Humoral Immunity?

Humoral Immunity Definition and Mechanism: Humoral Immunity is a kind of immunity produced by accessory cells known as antibodies that are released into the body fluids by B cells. It has the function of protecting the body against foreign microorganisms and removing toxins.

In this process, B cells are activated by the presence of antigens and, as a result, differentiate into plasma B cells and remember B cells. The antibodies specific to the antigens are produced by the plasma cells, while the memory B cells give a person immunity to the antigen in the long run.

Process of Humoral Response

B cells are efficient when an antigen invades the body because they identify it before attaching to it. They later turn into plasma cells that produce antibodies and memory B cells that ensure that response is hastened in the presence of a previous antigen.

Function of Antibodies

They inactivate the pathogens by binding to them, opsonize them, and call for the aid of the complement system to more easily dispose of the pathogens.

What is Cell-Mediated Immunity?

Cell-mediated immunity emphasises the T cells, which directly attack the cells that are infected or abnormal. It is useful for killing intracellular pathogens and cancer cells, the possible removal of which may cause problems for circulation.

Specific T cells distinguish between the body’s cells and infected ones, which are marked by foreign antigens on their surface, and kill them. Helper T cells are the common forms of T cells and help in the functioning of the other T cells, cytotoxic T cells that kill infected cells, regulatory T cells that suppress the immune response, and T memory cells that prolong the response to infection.

Types of T Cells

Different Types of Cell-mediated T- cells are described below:

Helper T cells (CD4+): They also help other immune cells that are involved in the immune response by producing what is known as cytokines.
Cytotoxic T cells (CD8+): To directly kill the infected or cancerous cells selectively the ability to identify the pathogenic organism or cancerous cell is required.
Regulatory T cells: Search for ways to ensure that the immune system does not attack the body’s tissues.
Memory T cells: Acquire long-term immunity by doing the following, The immune system must be able to remember past infections to provide long-term immunity.

Process of Cell-Mediated Response

T cells are activated by the process of presentation of the antigen. Cytotoxic T cells go on to eliminate the infected cells and on the other hand, helper T cells secrete cytokines facilitating the immune response.

Humoral Immune Response vs Cell-Mediated Immune Response

Humoral immunity vs Cell- mediated immunity

Similarities between Cell-mediated and Humoral Immunity

Major Similarities between Cell-Mediated and Humoral Immunity are discussed below in the table.

Aspect	Cell-mediated Immunity	Humoral Immunity
Involvement of Lymphocytes	Both involve lymphocytes (T cells in cell-mediated, B cells in humoral)	Both involve lymphocytes (B cells in humoral, T cells assist in activation)
Adaptive Immune Response	Both are part of the adaptive immune response	Both are part of the adaptive immune response
Antigen Specificity	Both are specific to particular antigens	Both are specific to particular antigens
Memory Cells Formation	Both generate memory cells for long-term immunity	Both generate memory cells for long-term immunity
Activation Requirement	Both require activation by antigens	Both require activation by antigens
Role in Immunity	Both are essential for effective immunity against pathogens	Both are essential for effective immunity against pathogens
Involvement of Helper T Cells	Helper T cells assist in activating cytotoxic T cells	Helper T cells assist in activating B cells
Interdependence	Cell-mediated immunity can influence humoral responses	Humoral immunity can influence cell-mediated responses

Tips, Tricks, and Strategies for Humoral and Cell-mediated Immunity

It takes effort to remember everything in a single go. We made the entire problem easy. Some of the tricks regarding Humoral and cell-mediated are given below which you can use to memorise the important points.

Humoral Immunity
"BAAP: B cells, Antibodies, Attack pathogens, Plasma cells"

B: B cells produce antibodies.
A: Antibodies bind to pathogens to neutralize them.
A: Attack extracellular pathogens (like bacteria and toxins).
P: Plasma cells are activated B cells that secrete antibodies.

Cell-Mediated Immunity
"T-DAK: T cells, Direct Attack, Kill infected cells"

T: T cells are the main players.
D: Direct action against infected or abnormal cells.
A: Attack intracellular pathogens (like viruses) inside cells.
K: Kill infected or abnormal cells directly.

Differences Between Humoral and Cell-Mediated Immunity
"BALL vs. DIRECT: B cells & Antibodies, Long-range vs. T cells, Direct Attack"

B cells produce Antibodies that provide
Long-range defence against pathogens.
T cells perform Direct Attack by killing infected cells.
T cells perform Direct Attack by killing infected cells.

Also Read

Viral Diseases	Acute And Chronic Diseases
Bacterial Diseases	Fungal Diseases
Protozoan Disease	Cancer

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the main difference between humoral and cell-mediated immunity?

In general, it can be indicated that the principal difference between humoral and cell-mediated immunity is based on the differences in their operations and objectives. Humoral immunity is the immunity that is offered by the antibodies that come from B cells and target pathogens that are outside the cells, such as bacteria and viruses. Cellular immunity, on the other hand, employs T cells, which are white blood cells that have a special function of identifying infected or diseased cells and then destroying them. Intracellular pathogens such as viruses are defeated by this form of immunity.

2. Which cells are involved in humoral immunity?

B cells are mainly associated with the immune response, which relies on the production of antibodies. B cells, when triggered by certain antigens, transform into plasma cells that secrete antibodies and memory B cells that confer immunological memory.

3. How do cytotoxic T cells destroy infected cells?

Cytotoxic T cells kill infected cells by binding to that cell via antigens that are present on the surface of the infected cell. They then neighbour and discharge perforins and granzymes into the infected cell, which forms pores in the cell membrane and kills the infected cell through apoptosis.

4. What role do antibodies play in humoral immunity?

There are several functions that antibodies perform in humoral immunity. They inactivate pathogens since they form a complex with them, and they cannot go on and infect the cells. They also label the pathogens to be destroyed by the process called opsonization and stimulate the complement system, which increases the ability to eliminate pathogens from the body.

5. Can both humoral and cell-mediated immunity be involved in the response to a single pathogen?

Yes, it is possible that both forms of immunity, such as humoral immunity and cell-mediated immunity, can be alike in an individual pathogen. For instance, during a viral disease, antibodies are capable of blocking the virus from spreading in the body fluids, while cytotoxic T cells can identify those cells that have been infected and kill them. Such a coordinated response helps to cover the whole territory of the organism against the pathogen.