Our Our Immune Immune System System A story for children with primary immunodeficiency diseases Written by IMMUNE DEFICIENCY Sara LeBien FOUNDATION A note from the author The purpose of this book is to help young children who are immune deficient to better understand their immune system. What is a “B-cell,” a “T-cell,” an “immunoglobulin” or “IgG”? They hear doctors use these words, but what do they mean? With cheerful illustrations, Our Immune System explains how a normal immune system works and what treatments may be necessary when the system is deficient. In this second edition, a description of a new treatment has been included. I hope this book will enable these children and their families to explore together the immune system, and that it will help alleviate any confusion or fears they may have. Sara LeBien This book contains general medical information which cannot be applied safely to any individual case. Medical knowledge and practice can change rapidly. Therefore, this book should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. SECOND EDITION COPYRIGHT 1990, 2007 IMMUNE DEFICIENCY FOUNDATION Copyright 2007 by Immune Deficiency Foundation, USA. Readers may redistribute this article to other individuals for non-commercial use, provided that the text, html codes, and this notice remain intact and unaltered in any way. Our Immune System may not be resold, reprinted or redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior written permission from Immune Deficiency Foundation. If you have any questions about permission, please contact: Immune Deficiency Foundation, 40 West Chesapeake Avenue, Suite 308, Towson, MD 21204, USA; or by telephone at 1-800-296-4433. IMMUNE DEFICIENCY FOUNDATION W e have things inside our bodies that protect us from being sick. These things are found in our immune system. 1 One kind of protector is the B-Cell. B-Cells make immunoglobulins (im-mu-no-glob-u-lins), also called antibodies (an-ti-bod-ies) or Igs. Each has a certain job THE 3 MOST IMPORTANT IMMUNOGLOBULINS to do to keep us well. They are like guards. They guard us from getting sick. 2 Their job is to kill germs, such as viruses, fungi, and bacteria that get into our bodies and make us sick. C o m e o n e v e r y b o d y ! L e t ’s g e t b u s y, w e ’ v e g o t w o r k t o d o ! IgM protects our blood and other things inside us. 3 IgG travels in our blood to get to the germs. IgA protects the places where we have saliva, tears, and mucus like our mouth, nose, lungs, and intestines. 4 Sometimes the Igs help each other gang up on germs. Let’s get him! I’ll help you! I will come, too! Here is a germ we need to get!! It’s all over, Germie! Gotcha! 5 Another kind of protector is the T-cell. T-cells are very important, too. They are in our blood. But they also go to other places inside our body. 6 There are 3 kinds of T-cells- Killer T-cells, Helper T-cells and Regulatory T-cells Killer T-cells kill germs. Got Ya! 7 CALLING ALL KILLER T-CELLS! WE NEED MORE OF YOU! Helper T-cells call in more Killer T-cells to kill germs and tell the B-cells when to make antibodies. OKAY, YOU B-CELLS PRODUCE THOSE IG ANTIBODIES! 8