Our Wonderful Natural Immune System vs. Drugs and Vaccines Defenses Against Covid and Other Infections

I received a short comment by a retired architect last night (3 June, 2021) inside my WhatApp chat group. 

 Here’s what he wrote:

 “It is so sad that most people nowadays depend on vaccines to solve their health problems and generally ignore or forget that they have such a great protector called the immune system right inside their bodies to fight diseases for them. Of course we have to bolster our immune system by exercises, eating nutritious foods, having a positive mindset, blah, blah, blah” 

 I could not help thinking how correct he was. He immediately prompted me to write this essay to elaborate. 

Our Wonderful Natural Immunity vs Drugs and Vaccines Defenses

 

" Iwill praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." (Psalm 139:14. KJV)

 Many drugs have since been suggested for the treatment of Covid, starting with anti-malarials like chloroquine and its derivatives, hydroxychloroquine that is also used for the treatment of autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. 

Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have since shown no notable antiviral effect against infections with SARS-CoV-2 in macaques or human lung cells according to two studies published online in Nature. Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine — drugs that are generally used for the treatment of malaria have been investigated for their prospective treatment for COVID-19 in more than 80 registered clinical trials. 

They have been shown to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in cell cultures, but their efficacy for the management of patients with COVID-19 has been debated. 

 Roger Le Grand and colleagues investigated the effects of hydroxychloroquine action on cynomolgus macaques, a non-human primate model of SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans. Hydroxychloroquine was shown to have no substantial antiviral activity, regardless of the timing of treatment initiation, either before infection, soon after infection or late after infection. 

In addition, using this antimalarial drug in combination with azithromycin, an antibiotic, had also no significant effect on virus levels in the macaques either. https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/chloroquine-and-hydroxychloroquine-shown-ineffective-against-covid-19 

A Megadose of vitamin C to be given intravenously has also been tried and claimed to be ‘successful’ but no extensive studies have been done except in some hospitals in the UK. 

 Others then came out with the antiviral drug remdesivir that targets a range of viruses. It was originally developed over a decade ago to treat hepatitis C. Remdesivir, a nucleotide drug originally developed for the treatment of Ebola when it was found to inhibit the replication of a wide range of human and animal coronaviruses in vitro and in preclinical studies. 

 However a study by Wang, Yeming et al published in April 2020, was the first double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial (RCT). It was also a multicentre trial with ten hospitals in China with 237 patients. 158 of them were given Remdesivir, and the rest were given a placebo, while they were on other forms of COVID-19 protocol treatments. 

 Despite a low sample size, the study found no significant differences in patients treated with Remdesivir in comparison with the placebo treatment. Source: Wang, Yeming, et al. on “Remdesivir in adults with severe COVID-19: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial.” The Lancet 395.10236 (2020): 1569-1578. 

 It was therefore not surprising when the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus emerged in late 2019 in China, remdesivir was tried When remdesivir was found to be ineffective, though initially ‘promising’, the antiparasitic drug ivermectin was suggested despite heavy criticism and warnings by WHO Ivermectin is an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of parasitic diseases in animals that was found to inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. 

 In one claim, it was said that ivermectin was able to effect approximately a 5,000-fold reduction in virus at 48 hr in cell culture. Hence this drug is now been repurposed for the treatment of SARS-Covid-2? 

In a setting where the number of COVID-19 patients is rapidly escalating resulting in increasing mortality worldwide, hydroxychloroquine, doxycycline, azithromycin, and other drugs shown to be futile, an effective drug has to be considered. 

 Ivermectin is the candidate to be tried. It was reported to be able to suppress SARS-CoV-2 replication. At least this was shown in a vitro experiment by an Australian group. Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug used since 1987 for the control of river blindness and lymphatic filariasis, as well as in the treatment of scabies in humans. 

 Ivermectin has very low toxicity and is a cheap drug. It was then tried out for as a prophylaxis as well as for the treatment of COVID-19 in Central and South American countries. One month after the declaration of the pandemic, countries such as Iraq, Egypt, Iran, and India began clinical trials with it with mixed results. 

 Many other small trials elsewhere have also not shown convincing results, and currently WHO and the Ministry of Health Malaysia has not recommended ivermectin to be used for Covid either despite lobbying its use by some quarters. 

 Then came an anti-inflammatory drug baricitinib originally meant for the treatment of mild to moderate rheumatoid arthritis due to its ability to reduce inflammatory cytokines. Baricitinib is an oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor that is selective for JAK1 and JAK2. 

It is being assessed for the treatment of COVID-19 as it may check cellular immune activation and inflammation. It is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. However on November 19, 2020, the FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the use of baricitinib in combination with remdesivir in hospitalized adults and children aged ≥2 years with COVID-19 who require supplemental oxygen, invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. 

 A study was conducted in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial evaluating baricitinib plus remdesivir in hospitalized adults with Covid-19. All the patients in the study received remdesivir (≤10 days) and either baricitinib (≤14 days) or placebo (control). 

The primary outcome was the time to recovery. The key secondary outcome was clinical status at day 15. This study on the efficacy of baricitinib together with remdesivir was carried out byAndre C. Kalil and his colleagues who concluded baricitinib plus remdesivir was superior to remdesivir alone in reducing recovery time and accelerating improvement in clinical status among patients with Covid-19, notably among those receiving high-flow oxygen or noninvasive ventilation. 

The combination was associated with fewer serious adverse events. As already mentioned, baricitinib binds to JAK1/2, which inhibits JAK1/2 activation and leads to the inhibition of the JAK-signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) signaling pathway. This decreases the production of inflammatory cytokines and may prevent an inflammatory response. However my own feeling is, baricitinib role in managing Covid-19 may not be very satisfactory other than it inhibits the intracellular signalling pathway of cytokines such as IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, interferon-γ, and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor. 

 Nevertheless, it has been also shown to improve the lymphocyte count and probably may prevent entry of the virus into the cell? The next agent to be considered was another antiviral drug - nelfinavir that is used along with other medications to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Nelfinavir belongs to a class of medications called protease inhibitors. It works by decreasing the amount of HIV in the blood.

 Scientists then thought since nelfinavir is a protease inhibitor that competes for the active cleavage site on the protease enzyme, it would be able to block the cleavage of the poly-proteins of SARS-Covid-2 virus and thus the maturation of new viral particles. But unfortunately it failed to be.

 Another alternative researchers have in view is famotidine. This is an antiviral that was believed to be able to bind a papain-like protease that is encoded by the SARS-CoV-2 genome and would be able to block the entry of SARS-CoV-2? When it did not work as well as anticipated, they then came out with the ideas of using monoclonal antibodies together with lopinavir and ritonavir that are also virus protease inhibitors that were used in the treatment of human immunodeficiency. 

But we are not sure the outcome of the idea Initially researchers also thought that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine may work as polymerase inhibitors. In some ways they may work as a polymerase inhibitor by blocking out RNA duplication since a polymerase is an enzyme that synthesizes long chains of nucleic acids to assemble themselves as the RNA of SARS-Covid-2 virus. 

The virus uses base-pairing template strand for replication. Initial results were encouraging, but after a period of trials, both chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine lost their effect probably by blocking out the inhibitor of polymerase on which they build up their RNA strands It looks like the virus was able to circumnavigate that by erasing the polymerase inhibitors as part of their evolutionary process to be more adaptable and resilient. 

This is just my personal view that needs to be investigated Other scientists and researchers then suggested using umifenovir, a small indole-derivative molecule that is used in Russia and China or tocilizumab and also sarilumab that is used as a prophylaxis against influenza virus A and B Despite all the efforts of scientists and researchers the virus is still ahead of them in defiance. 

 Then they came out with another idea of using bevacizumab (Avastin) which is actually a cancer drug that is also used to treat certain eye diseases This drug like baricitinib is a Janus kinase inhibitor with potential anti-inflammatory, immunomodulating and antineoplastic activities. 

Other than this pharmacodynamics, I am unsure in what other ways this drug is going to work against SARS-Covid-2 virus? In desperation when all drugs failed, other workers suggested an antidepressant drug fluvoxamine which is an immunomodulatory agent. Again, I am unsure how immunomodulation per se would work.

Going through the literature other scientists suggested using a combination of antiviral lopinavir and ritonavir. Several small studies have been conducted on all these drugs, but none has been shown satisfactory within expectations. They all require large-scale well-designed randomized studies against placebos. 

 In a video sent to me lately of a doctor in the UK who even suggested using antihistamines and mast cells inhibitors to suppress cytokine storms in a hyperactive immune reaction for Covid-19, while other doctors claimed they have ‘successfully’ treated Covid patients with bronchodilators and steroids? But these two are just examples of isolated ideas that holds no water to the consensus of a scientific community.

Now they have thrown out hydroxychloroquine previously thought would be the answer, they have brought back the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin once again. 

 Whether it was chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin, to my mind the initial results may be hopeful, but as with all organisms, they are able to fly round a threat for their inherent survival as prescribed in the laws of survival of the fittest. This phenomenon has always been observed since 4,000 million years ago and there is no possibility for us to defy Nature in her well-designed and unyielding evolutionary process 

 As I see it, this virus is here to stay along with their entire families from SARS, MERS, to Covid-19, and I think they are much more mutagenic strains yet to come to confront our human race who is unable to live in harmony with them and with other creatures of evolution.

 Our Immune System:

 Having everything now have failed us, let us discuss how our own immune system may be our sole hope. It is outside the scope of this short essay to discuss immunology or the immunological system of our body. The immunological role of the body in combating this coronavirus would take chapters, and this is necessary for this short review. 

 Furthermore, this short article as with all other articles in this blog is meant only for the general reader. It is not a research paper where all the references need to be cited. A general simple essay like this for the general readers does not require these or technical details that would be lost in transition. 

 Let’s now see how the immune system works for most people during this pandemic Briefly to be explained in simple language, one of the components of the immune system is composed of lymphocytes in the white blood cells. A lymphocyte consists of many components, among them, natural killer cells that are responsible for cell-mediated, cytotoxic natural immunity, T cells responsible for cell-mediated, cytotoxic adaptive immunity, and the B cells that produces the humoral antibodies for adaptive immunity. These are the main type of cells found in lymph and plasma of blood, hence the name "lymphocyte" Lymphocytes make up between 18% and 42% of circulating white blood cells, or WBC which are also called the leukocytes. 

 CD Cells: 

 There are actually many more types of lymphocytes such as NK cells, T-helper cells, T-regulatory cells, cytotoxic T- cells…all responsible for the defense system. They are classified as CD cells under the immunophenotyping system. But we shall not go into all that. 

 Collectively, the white blood cells, the antibodies, the lymphatic system, spleen, bone marrow and the thymus together make up the immune system. We shall also not go into these sub-systems either except briefly mentioned here. 

 Although the detailed mechanisms of the immune response are beyond the scope of this article, we shall have a brief look at how antibodies are produced by the immune system. When our body immune system encounters a foreign molecule such as a protein of the spike protein of the SARS-Covid-2 virus for the first time, specialized cells such as macrophages and dendritic cells arrest these foreign molecules to present them as antigens to the B cell lymphocytes. 

 As scientists and medical researchers, we called this an ‘antigen presentation’

 Once an antigen presentation to the B cell lymphocytes is effected, a process known as somatic hypermutation allows the B cell to begin coding for a new antibody that will contain a unique antigen binding site in the variable region that is capable of binding specifically to part of an antigen molecule to which an antibody attaches itself. We called this an epitope from the antigen. Each B cell lymphocyte produces one unique antibody against one unique epitope. 

 Once antibodies with sufficient specificity to the epitope can be encoded, the B cell begins to discharge antibodies into the bloodstream. These antibodies then bind explicitly with the foreign molecule and allow the immune system to eliminate the foreign molecule from the system. 

 In some cases, these antibodies can disable pathogens such as viruses directly due to the binding action When antibodies produced by the B lymphocytes (B cells) bind to the antigen (SARS-Covid-2 virus for example) it stimulates the B cell to divide and mature into a group of identical cells called a clone. They then make many copies of them as memory cells 

 The immune system keeps a record of every microbe or viruses that was previously encountered by its B- and T-lymphocytes. They then keep them in the memory as memory cells. In the next encounter with the same virus or with any foreign protein or pathogenic organism previously presented, it immediately recognizes them and destroys them. 

 Some infections, like the flu and the common cold, or Covid-19 where the virus has mutated into other variants or strains they may not be recognized by the memory cells and will not confer immunity. 

 In other words, vaccines against one strain or variant virus may not confer immunity to the same virus if it has mutated into another strain or another variant.

 Antibodies (Immunoglobulins): 

 Let’s now briefly look at some of the antibodies or immunoglobulins. In short, they are designated as ‘Ig’ produced by the B cells of the lymphocytes There are five major classes of antibodies, namely, Immunoglobulin A (IgA), immunoglobulin G (IgG), immunoglobulin D (IgD), immunoglobulin M (IgM), and immunoglobulin E (IgE). 

 In humans these can be sub-grouped into IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgA1 and IgA2) based on additional small differences in the amino acid heavy chain sequences. Based on differences in the amino acid sequence in the regular regions of the light chain, immunoglobulins can then be further sub-classified by determination of the type of light chain (kappa light chain or lambda light chain). A light chain has two successive domains, one constant domain and one variable domain. 

 The immunoglobulins are specific for different types of infections or may change even for the same infection For instance in one study by Yanan Wang and his colleagues they showed virus-specific IgM for Covid-19 patients reached up to over 80% from the second week to the eighth week after symptom of onset, then declined quickly to below 30% in the twelfth week. In another paper by Rhea Veda Nugraha et al here:

 https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2020/2560645/ 

 They found “the serology information about SARS-CoV-2 also remains unclear. Most patients with COVID-19 showed a peak increase of immunoglobulin M (IgM) nine days after disease onset and shifted to immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the second week. Other data showed that viral load increases mostly during the first week of the disease but decreases in the second week. Then, IgM and IgG begin to increase on day 10” 

A Shift in the Immunological Tune:

Somewhere on the 9th day of the infection the IgM shifted to IgG for reason unclear. I suspect the vaccine containing the synthetic isolate or the attenuated virus may have mutated in the body to present a different pathogenic behavior requiring different types of immunoglobulins. 

 I suggest this needs further investigation, without which we will not be able to predict the vaccines long-term effect that has been hotly debated over and over again by many immunologists, molecular biologists, researchers, clinicians and ordinary man-in-the-street who were all very skeptical and cautious of these vaccines 

 In their study, concentrations of IgG remained high for at least 3 months before subsequently declining. As compared with the non-severe group, serum IgM level from week 3 to week 8 was significantly higher among the patients with severe clinical symptoms What all this means in a nut-shell there may be already a lot of people with of SARS-Covid-2-specific IgM and IgG circulating in their blood through cross infections without them knowing it, or showing any symptom of the infection. We can call this as “herd immunity” 

 Most people survived this pandemic on their own without any drugs or previous vaccines given to them except perhaps a minority of them were given supplemental oxygen to help them breathe, or an acute cases if they are unable to breathe on their own they were being ventilated by endotracheal intubation.

Statistics on Mortality: 

 If we now look at the statistics as on Wednesday, 2 June, 2021 there were 171.196,260 cases recorded worldwide with only 3,565,444 deaths. This amounts to just 2.1 %. No data is given for total recovery In Malaysia yesterday on June 2, 2021 at 8 pm (1200 hrs GMT), there was a total of 587,165 confirmed cases, 82,274 total active cases (14.0 %), 501,898 total recovery (85.47 %) and only 2,993 death (0.5 %) since the pandemic started in December, 2019. 

 We can clearly see how beautifully our own immune system has been designed to work for us without any drugs, vaccines except hospitalization

 “Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (God)” (1 Corinthians 6:19), and 

 "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14). 

Unfortunately, most people have not realized this wonderful work of Nature with some even giving praises to certain medications they took on their own instead of giving this well-deserved glory to their own body and to the Intelligent Designer who has naturally protected them. 

I think we should be thankful for this gift of our immune system that did most of the job for us that has healed most people instead of believing in some other treatment except with some help of supplemental oxygen given to them in a hospital. 

I hope others will join me to see how wonderfully our body and our immune system has been designed to work for us in an infection to heal itself eventually with just 2.0 % mortality worldwide from this pandemic so far.

 A few thought it was the antimalarial drug chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, and the antiviral drug remdesivir that helped them that they labeled as ‘miracle drugs’ 

Now they found the virus is smarter than us by causing these antiviral agents to be resistant by their ability to express enzymes on their own to block out the action of the inhibitor of polymerase that synthesizes long chains of RNA nucleic acids for replications. 

It is so apparent to us, or at least to me, that this humble teeny-tiny virus not endowed with any brain are far more smarter and intelligent than our combined smartest and brainiest scientists on Earth attempting to encounter them Initially our drugs were found encouraging, but now this virus has become much smarter and resistant to them just as the malarial parasites are now resistant to chloroquine due to evolution of better and hardier strains. 

 Now they revert to ivermectin that now seems maybe promising, but in the long term when this coronavirus is confronted by any agent that threatens their continuing existence, ivermectin may too fail like chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, and the rest of the other antiviral agents.

 In the final scenario it is still our own immune system that is living to protect us. No vaccine can work without our immune system 

War of the Worlds:

On this note, may I divert you to an article I wrote soon after the outbreak of this pandemic in the late December 2019 where I compared a story HG Wells wrote: “War of the Worlds” where he paid tribute to our microbes, the bacteria that eventually fought for us against the Martians who did not have that immune systems as we do 

In that scenario, HG Wells wrote it was not our combined world armies, nor our nuclear weapons just like our drugs and vaccines that that finally won the battle for us, but it was our humble bacteria for which the Martians have no immune system against our bacteria This article called “War of the Worlds; Earthlings vs. the Coronavirus” was published on May, 2020 in Ir. Lau Tai Onn blog here: 

https://taionn.blogspot.com/2020/05/2020-war-of-worlds-earthlings-vs-corona.html 

All vaccines still require our immune system to produce all those antibodies to confront our made-made virus antigen in the vaccines. Without our immune system that produces these antibodies as our sole savior to challenge this virus, or the modified virus as in vaccine we will be doomed. 

 In fact we can clearly see if a virus or the antigen in the vaccine is injected and presented into our body without the immune system as our natural defenses, we will just let this pathogen go right through with any defenses. 

In short, the vaccine kills us straight away in one sentence If not for our living body, but as a dead body without any more immune system operative anymore, then absolutely nothing, whether drugs or vaccines can elicit response anymore. Just be very thankful how our body has been designed by an Intelligent Designer for us. 

Don’t we think so? 

 I hope I have explained, and thank you for encouraging me to write this essay.

Our Wonderful Immunological System

 

In my last article I wrote about

“The Healing Properties of Our Body. Is Prevention Better than Cure?”

here:

https://scientificlogic.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-healing-properties-of-our-body-is.html

I mentioned about injuries such as bleeding, wounds, and fractures. It is not always we are injured and traumatised. But what we are facing every second, every minute in our lives are pathogenic organisms from the environment. These are far more threatening to our existence than occasional injuries such as cuts, bruises, and fractures from accidents. I thought it is only fair I should give priority to discuss a little bit how our body defend itself against invading pathogenic organisms from outside and within our bodies.  This is “Our Wonderful Immune System”. Later, perhaps I may deal with an internal threat from our own cells - cancer. But let me deal with infection first.  

The human body has a highly sophisticated and multi-layered defence system to protect itself against infections caused by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. This defence system can be broadly categorized into innate (nonspecific) and adaptive (specific) immunity. We shall briefly outline how each component works:

First, we have this innate immunity which can be classified as physical and chemical barriers. The skin for instance acts as a physical barrier preventing the entry of pathogens. It also produces antimicrobial proteins and peptides. Mucous membranes line the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary tracts, trapping pathogens in mucus.

Secretions such as saliva, tears, and mucus contain enzymes like lysozyme that break down bacterial cell walls. Then there is this stomach acid where the acidic environment (low pH) destroys many ingested pathogens. Cilia which are tiny hair-like structures in the respiratory tract that move mucus and trapped pathogens out of the lungs.

Secondly, the body is also equipped with cellular defences that are the phagocytes, the white blood cells such as neutrophils and macrophages that engulf and digest pathogens. These phagocytes are made up of neutrophils which are the most abundant white blood cells that respond quickly to infections, the macrophages found in tissues and organs. They ingest pathogens and dead or dying cells.

Comes next the natural killer (NK) cells that destroy infected or cancerous cells by releasing cytotoxic granules that induce apoptosis (cell death). The blood also has the dendritic cells. These cells act as antigen-presenting cells that capture antigens and present them to T cells, initiating the adaptive immune response.

That’s not all. We have the inflammatory response that initiates inflammation, a process that isolates and limits tissue damage and infection. It involves vasodilation, an increased blood flow to the affected area, causing redness and heat. Increased permeability in the area allows immune cells and proteins to enter tissues, causing swelling. Like an army, there is also phagocyte recruitment that attracts immune cells to the site of infection to eliminate pathogens.

Then other components that come into action are the antimicrobial proteins which are a complement system where a group of proteins enhance the ability of antibodies and phagocytic cells to clear pathogens.  Added to that are the opsonization which means coating pathogens to make them more recognizable to phagocytes. That’s not all. There is this thing called Membrane Attack Complex (MAC). These form pores in the membranes of pathogens, leading to their lysis. Comes next the interferons which are proteins produced by virus-infected cells that help protect neighbouring cells from viral infection.

Next in line we have the adaptive immunity that involves specificity and memory. Here lymphocytes, the primary cells are involved in adaptive immunity, involving B cells that produce antibodies that bind to specific antigens. Upon activation, they differentiate into plasma cells that produce large quantities of antibodies which we shall classify them shortly.

The immunological system is also armed with memory B cells. These cells have memories that provide long-lasting immunity by remembering past infections. Comes another type or army – the T cells. They are involved in cell-mediated immunity. There are two main types, the helper T Cells (CD4+) where they activate B cells and other immune cells by releasing cytokines. The immune system has yet another type of army we call them as cytotoxic T Cells (CD8+). They directly kill infected or cancerous cells.

Having said all that, next comes the antigen presentation that is made of a major histocompatibility complex (MHC). These are molecules that present antigens on the surface of cells. Immunologists group them as MHC Class I, found on all nucleated cells, present antigens to cytotoxic T cells. MHC Class II are found on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) like dendritic cells, macrophages, and B cells, present antigens to helper T cells.

That’s not all. The immunological system also has the Clonal Selection and Expansion. When a lymphocyte recognizes its specific antigen, it undergoes clonal expansion, producing many identical cells that can respond to the pathogen. They have the effector cells that actively respond to the infection. The memory cells then provide a rapid and robust response if the pathogen is encountered again.

Having explained all that, comes the antibodies most people have heard of.

Antibodies have a structure that consists of variable regions that bind specific antigens and constant regions that determine the class of the antibody. Their functions are:

Neutralization that blocks pathogens or toxins from interacting with host cells. Opsonization that marks pathogens for phagocytosis. Complement Activation that triggers the complement system leading to pathogen destruction.

Agglutination then clumps pathogens together for easier removal. There are many types of antibodies. Antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins (Ig), play a crucial role in the immune defence against pathogens and abnormal cells. There are five main classes of antibodies, each with specific functions and characteristics:

Classes of Antibodies are:

IgG (Immunoglobulin G). They are the most abundant antibodies in the blood and extracellular fluid. They provide long-term protection and memory. They are capable of crossing the placenta to provide passive immunity to the foetus.

Involved in opsonization, neutralization of toxins and viruses, and activation of the complement system.

IgA (Immunoglobulin A):

Functions:

IgA are found in mucous membranes lining the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, as well as in saliva, tears, and breast milk. They protect the mucosal surfaces by preventing the attachment and entry of pathogens. They play a role in mucosal immunity.

IgM (Immunoglobulin M):

Functions:

IgM is the first antibody produced in response to an infection.

It is found in the blood and lymphatic fluid. It is effective at forming antigen-antibody complexes and activating the complement system. It plays a crucial role in the primary immune response.

IgE (Immunoglobulin E):

Functions:

IgE is involved in allergic reactions and responses to parasitic infections. It binds to allergens and triggers histamine release from mast cells and basophils. It mediates immediate hypersensitivity reactions.

IgD (Immunoglobulin D):

Functions:

IgD presents in small amounts in the blood and on the surface of B cells. It is involved in the activation and regulation of B cells during the immune response. Its precise role is less well understood compared to other antibody classes.

Antibody Subclasses. Some antibody classes have further subclasses that provide more specialized functions. For example, IgG Subclasses are:

IgG1: Most abundant subclass, effective in opsonization and complement activation.

IgG2: Involved in responses to bacterial polysaccharides.

IgG3: Highly effective in complement activation.

IgG4: Involved in responses to allergens and chronic infections, and less effective in complement activation.

IgA Subclasses:

IgA1: Found primarily in serum.

IgA2: Found primarily in secretions at mucosal surfaces.

Specific Antibodies:

In addition to the general classes and subclasses, there are specific antibodies used in clinical and therapeutic contexts. These are often monoclonal antibodies, designed to target specific antigens associated with diseases. Some notable examples include:

Rituximab (anti-CD20): Used to treat certain autoimmune diseases and cancers, particularly B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

Trastuzumab (Herceptin, anti-HER2/neu): Used to treat HER2-positive breast cancer.

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda, anti-PD-1): Used in cancer immunotherapy to block the PD-1 pathway and enhance the immune response against tumours.

Infliximab (Remicade, anti-TNF-alpha): Used to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease.

Omalizumab (Xolair, anti-IgE): Used to treat allergic asthma and chronic spontaneous urticaria.

These monoclonal antibodies are specifically engineered to target particular molecules involved in disease processes, and they represent an important application of antibody technology in modern medicine.

Integration of Innate and Adaptive Immunity:

·         Cytokines and Chemokines: Small proteins released by cells that mediate and regulate immunity, inflammation, and haematopoiesis. They help in the communication between innate and adaptive immune responses.

·         Antigen-Presenting Cells (APCs): Such as dendritic cells and macrophages, bridge the innate and adaptive immune systems by presenting antigens to T cells.

The coordination and interplay between these various mechanisms ensure that the body can effectively detect, respond to, and remember pathogens, providing both immediate and long-term protection against infections.

We can see how wonderful our Immunological System works for us. In fact, all their components and subcomponents are active all the time, every second, every minute in our entire life defending us silently against infection without us knowing it.

And yet, doctors unnecessarily prescribe all those antibiotics for us for every infection, causing an abuse in antibiotics resulting in a lot of antibiotic strains of bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics. This resistance can be to a single antibiotic or multiple antibiotics, making infections caused by these bacteria more difficult to treat when in truth the body by itself can easily handle most of the infections.   

We shall talk about this in another article.

“A True Doctor is One Who Teaches, The Best Healer is Your Own Body” (Motto of my blog)

Lim ju boo 

 

 

 

Our Body’s Own Natural Immunological Battle Against Cancers

 

 In the body it was found that micro cancers or cellular cancers can already persist for years before cancer becoming clinically apparent. This latency period is influenced by the slow growth of cancer cells, immune surveillance, dormancy, genetic changes, and the span several years to decades.

It is possible for scientists to develop therapeutic strategies that mimic the body's own natural immunological systems to fight cancer.

Before that, let’s have a look at how the body naturally fights micro cellular cancers all the time. The time period before micro cellular cancers lurking in the body before they manifest themselves into full grown clinical cancer may take as long as 30 – 50 years, thanks to our wonderful immunological surveillance and its constant attack.  

The immune system against cancers is slightly different from those for infectious diseases since the body has to deal with its own malignancy, and not foreign agents from outside. Nevertheless, the same immune system plays a crucial role in recognizing and eliminating cancer cells through a process known as cancer immunosurveillance.

This involves both innate and adaptive immune mechanisms designed to detect and destroy abnormal cells that may become cancerous. The immunological mechanism against cancer is its innate immune response by releasing natural killer (NK) cells. These cells can recognize and kill cancer cells without prior sensitization. They identify stressed or abnormal cells by the absence of MHC class I molecules, which are often downregulated in cancer cells. The way NK cells do this is to release perforin and granzymes, which induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in the target cell. Tumour-Associated Macrophages (TAMs) are also released.  These can have dual roles. M1 macrophages are pro-inflammatory and can kill tumour cells, while M2 macrophages may do the opposite by promoting tumour growth and suppressing the immune response.

The body response to cancer also involves phagocytosis by macrophages and cytokine production. Macrophages can engulf cancer cells and release cytokines that stimulate other immune cells. There are also the dendritic cells (DCs) and its antigen presentation where the DCs capture tumour antigens and present them to T cells, initiating an adaptive immune response. Activation of T Cells causes the presentation of antigens along with costimulatory signals for DCs to activate T cells to target and kill cancer cells. Furthermore, the body also has a complementary system that causes direct killing by directly lysing the tumour cells through the formation of the membrane attack complex (MAC). These include:

Opsonization to enhance phagocytosis of cancer cells by coating them with complement proteins.

Adaptive immune response to cancer T Cells involving cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs or CD8+ T Cells) works by:

Recognition of tumour antigens causes CTLs recognition of specific antigens presented by MHC class I molecules on cancer cells that activate the killing mechanism.  Once activated, CTLs release perforin and granzymes that induce apoptosis in cancer cells.

Memory T Cells provide long-term immunity and can quickly respond to cancer cells if they reappear.

Helper T Cells (CD4+ T Cells) are there to support CTLs and B Cells. Helper T cells produce cytokines that aid the activation and proliferation of CTLs and B cells.

Regulation of immune response helps maintain a robust immune response against cancer cells. B cells can produce antibodies specific to tumour antigens.

Antibody-mediated immunity coats cancer cells through opsonization marking them for destruction by phagocytes.

NK cells and other effector cells can recognize antibody-coated cancer cells and kill them through antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC).  

The interaction between the immune system and cancer cells can be described by the concept of immunoediting, which includes three phases:

1. Elimination:

The immune system detects and destroys cancer cells before they can establish a tumour.

2. Equilibrium:

Some cancer cells may survive initial immune attacks and enter a state of dormancy. During this phase, the immune system controls tumour growth, but the cancer cells are not completely eradicated.

3. Escape:

Cancer cells can acquire mutations that allow them to evade the immune system, leading to tumours progression and metastasis. Mechanisms of immune evasion include:

Downregulation of MHC molecules reduces the ability of T cells to recognize cancer cells by secretion of immunosuppressive molecules such as TGF-beta, IL-10, and VEGF, which inhibit the function of immune cells.

Expression of immune checkpoint molecules such as PD-L1, which interact with inhibitory receptors on T cells (like PD-1) to suppress their activity.

In terms of cancer treatment other than by surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation scientists having learnt these strategies briefly explained above in this essay, they  can now consider using cancer immunotherapy to mimic the body's own ability to fight cancer.

In order to enhance the immune system's ability to fight cancer, scientists have developed several immunotherapeutic strategies to help mimic the body These are:

1. Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors such as:

CTLA-4 Inhibitors: Block the CTLA-4 receptor on T cells, enhancing their activation.

PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibitors: Block the interaction between PD-1 on T cells and PD-L1 on cancer cells, preventing immune suppression.

2. Adoptive Cell Transfer:

CAR-T Cell Therapy: T cells are extracted from the patient, genetically engineered to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that specifically target tumour antigens, and then reinfused into the patient.

3. Cancer Vaccines:

Preventive Vaccines: Such as the HPV vaccine, which prevents virus-induced cancers.

Therapeutic Vaccines: Aim to stimulate an immune response against existing tumours by introducing tumour antigens.

4. Cytokine Therapy:

Interleukins and Interferons: Enhance the proliferation and activation of immune cells.

5. Monoclonal Antibodies:

Targeted therapy involves using monoclonal antibodies that can be designed to target specific antigens on cancer cells, marking them for destruction or delivering cytotoxic agents directly to the tumour.

The immune system's ability to detect and eliminate cancer is complex and involves a coordinated effort between innate and adaptive immunity. Advances in understanding these mechanisms have led to significant developments in cancer immunotherapy, offering new hope for effective cancer treatment.

Lim ju boo 

Can Our Body Adapt to Covid mRNA Vaccine?

 General Adaptation Syndrome in Covid Vaccines

 

 

by lim ju boo

 

 

Not many doctors know that when our body is continuously being challenged, insulted, and injured by any threat such as chemicals, toxins, internal or external pollutants, bacteria, viruses, parasites, cigarette smoking, continuous drugs and medications, chronic consumption of  alcohol, perpetual bad and harmful lifestyles, including harmful food substances, and food additives..etc, the body initially tries to defend itself by a an acute stage of a crisis before adapting silently due to its homeostasis and buffering systems.

 

If a threat, for instance, a bacterial infection is initiated, it will respond with a fever, and the immune system will be elicited with an increase in the various components of the white blood cell count, namely the phagocytes, T-cells, B-cells, natural killer cells, helper cells, etc, and  the various immunoglobulin will be produced in the first acute  stage

 

See  article on our wonderful immune system here:

 

https://scientificlogic.blogspot.com/search?q=our+wonderful+immune+system

 

 

But if the infection is not checked, it may become chronic, and the immune system may no longer respond. It may go into the second asymptomatic stage where the body may no longer show  signs or symptoms.

 

 

In another example of chronic lifestyle disease, if a healthy individual consumes a lot of salt, he will respond with thirst which is the normal first stage of an active physiological response to force the individual to drink a lot of water to get rid of the excessive salt.

 

However, if he continues with these unhealthy dietary habits, he may lose his sense of thirst, sliding him into the second stage of an asymptomatic phase whereby there are no longer any warning signs or symptoms as warning bells of thirst as the body begins to adapt to a high salt  intake.

 

But if he stops excessive salt consumption at this reversible stage, he goes back to the first phase of a general adaptation where he regains his thirst when excessive salt intake is consumed.

 

But if he insists on habitual excessive salt intake as part of his dietary lifestyle, he sinks to the third irreversible stage of a syndrome that may manifest in high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

 

 

Another example is smoking. If an individual who has never smoked in his life, is offered a cigarette, his first response is coughing as a reflex action where his body tries to get rid of the smoke entering his airways and lungs.

 

But after many continuous exposures to the smoke, he loses this protective reflex action, and begins to enjoy smoking entering his lungs as the second phase of adaptation. But if he stops smoking at this second reversible adaptation, he regains his cough reflex if offered a cigarette again.  

 

 

But if he continues to smoke, he goes into the third irreversible stage of exhaustion which may result in the damage to his  airways and the small air sacs (alveoli) of the lungs.

 

 

This may lead to conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and in  most cases lung cancer.

 

Normally, when the body is challenged by any kind of external or internal threat, whether from toxic substances, pollutants, or even self-induced harmful lifestyles, it will initially vigorously fight back  in an acute first phase by showing signs and symptoms as warming bells. 

 

But when that threat  is removed, the body recovers uneventfully from the injury and it heals itself. For instance, it is well-known that a cut can heal itself without any medicine if we just bandage it up and protect it from further injury.

 

 

However if toxic substances such as chemicals, pathogenic agents such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites…etc, termed as stressors were to persist, whether internally or externally, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the body will refuse to respond anymore  as signs and symptoms.

 

 

 It then goes into an asymptomatic phrase whereby it just does not want to respond to a crisis anymore. The body remains symptomatically “healthy” as if nothing happens.  

 

The individual then becomes a potential candidate for a chronic disease  in the later stage of  his life.

 

Without the symptoms he continues to “enjoy” life, and that he is alright and healthy such as clearly seen in patients who later developed  diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, heart and lungs, endocrine and metabolic disorders.  

 

Unfortunately during the second reversible stage, if he does  nothing to remove the stressors through lifestyle changes or dietary modifications, the body sinks into the third chronic  irreversible stage 

 

 

During an initial active crisis of a disease, he may just take drugs and medication to mask or to suppress the symptoms even though  they are the warning bells instead of addressing the root causes.

 

 

As the years passed, the existing stressors remain to continuously insult and injure the body relentlessly.

 

 

In response, the body goes from the first acute warning bell phrase into the second silent (asymptomatic) stage, and then into the third and irreversible stage whereby the entire body systems may shut  down.

 

 

This classical theory in medicine  unfortunately is  not known by most  doctors  because they were never  taught about the healing crisis of a disease during their medical training.

 

 

Doctors are mainly taught to  diagnose a disease  using different diagnostic procedures, and how to manage them mainly through  drugs and medications, and in some cases through surgery that does help in the event of a mechanical obstruction.

 

 

There is no doubt medication does helps in acute disease conditions, but it is also important to look at the root causes if the condition persists instead of suppressing the symptoms each time, as this may cause the condition to become chronic due to the presence of prolonged stressors

 

 

In the good practice of medicine priority should be given in preventive and rehabilitative medicine, health education, and helping the patient with dietary, nutrition and lifestyle changes instead of solely using drugs to alter a chemical pathology  

 

This very beautiful classical stress theory of medicine called General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) was put forward by a very famous and well-known Canadian physician Dr. Hans Selye (1907–1982) who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine or in Physiology.

 

This same classical theory in medicine was already known and well-recognized  in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in their yin and yang classical theory of internal medicine over 2,500 years ago.

 

 

Han Selye came out with the GAS theory where he described how the body initially tries to fight to defend itself in the first acute stage of a disease with signs and symptoms as warning bells, and if not addressed and the stressors not removed at the root cause(s), it goes into the second silent stage whereby the body defenses go into exhaustion and refuse to respond further as it silently tries to adapt. 

 

 

But if the root causes are addressed and removed even in the second stage of the asymptomatic stage, the condition becomes reversible into the first active phrase of a disease whereby symptoms and signs start to appear again. This is dubbed by Dr. Han Selye as the “healing crisis” before it disappears completely into health.

 

 

But if the stressors persist beyond the second silent phrase, the condition spirals into the irreversible degenerative stage with multiple other disorders showing up for which more and more medications at increasing higher and higher doses being given, causing multiple disorders spiraling down into a vicious cycle

 

 

Dr Hans Selye theory on stress-induced diseases is normally seen in  lifestyle diseases.

 

 

This imbalance with Nature internally and externally is precisely the same as the yin yang theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Huangdi neijing translated as The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic of Internal Medicine dating back more than 2,500 BCE where they also documented the various causes of diseases due to internal and external stresses.

 

 

In the classical theory of TCM, they prescribe the need to  balance the yin and yang stressors within and outside the body for optimal health, for preventive medicine, and in the treatment of disease as opposed to conventional medicine where they rely on drugs to alter, replace or inhibit a chemical pathology.  

 

 

In short, the yin and yang imbalance of TCM within and outside the body is believed to be the principal root cause of a chronic illness.

 

 

That theory of TCM to me in my personal 21^st Century scientific understanding of medicine is so convincing as it was 2,500 years ago, and this theory has been unparalleled by any other system of medicine until Dr. Hans Selye put forward his same classical theory on the General Adaptation Syndrome as the causes of illnesses, including even genetically-mediated ones that cannot expressed itself if the yin-yang balance is in place.

 

 

Application of GAS in Covid Vaccine:

 

 

On this note, let us now look at some of the issues pertaining to the vaccines, particularly the mRNA version that has been hotly being disagreed among medical and scientific experts around the world in their belief  that it causes more harm than good.

 

 

According to most experts in molecular biology / medicine, molecular genetics and immunology around the world,  they argued that the mRNA vaccine once injected into the body will remain in the body forever, and it will begin to destroy the body.

 

 

They argued the mRNA can neither be destroyed, digested by phagocytes, detoxified by the liver, nor can they be excreted by the kidneys, exhaled  out into the breath nor into the sweat. They remain in the body forever as a foreign nucleotide acting as permanent stressors  to induce the body to produce the spike proteins even long after the Covid-19 pandemic is over.

 

 

The mRNA vaccine is genetically programmed to work by inducing the body cells to produce the spike protein to challenge the immune system to respond with antibodies.

 

 

The function of the messenger RNA (mRNA) is to deliver the protein blueprint from a cell's DNA to its ribosomes, which are the "machines" that drive protein synthesis.

 

Transfer RNA (tRNA) then carries the appropriate amino acids into the ribosome for inclusion in the new protein.

 

 

More precisely, transcription is the synthesis of RNA from a DNA template from the body  where the code in the DNA is converted into a complementary RNA code.

 

 

Translation is the synthesis of a protein from an mRNA template where the code in the mRNA is converted into an amino acid sequence of a protein such as the spike protein.

 

 

In simple language, the mRNA are just like messengers or delivery boys to remember, and to pass on the message to produce the spike protein by the DNA in the cells of a human body.

 

 

This means, the  body cells just obey a genetically-engineered programme to translate (deliver) the spike protein automatically like a robot to be presented to the immune system to attack.

 

  

This is good, if the mRNA remains temporarily in the body after it has done its job.

 

 

But according to molecular biologists and molecular medical experts, the mRNA will remain in the body, and will continue to induce the body cells to obediently produce the spike protein non-stop, thus acting as permanent stressors presented to the immune system.

 

In such an unfortunate scenario the immune system will fail to respond any longer as it breaks down into exhaustion into the second stage due to a continuing pathogenic challenge, based on the same GAS theory so beautifully described by Dr Hans Selye.

 

If the spike protein persists even after the second stage of an immune exhaustion, the body will remain chronically  immune-silent.

 

It may fail to respond anymore. In such a scenario, it will give rise to opportunistic multiple infections unrelated to Covid.

 

It has now become a genetically-engineered runaway programme that can neither be stopped or reversed.

 

 

What may be even more damaging is, the immune system may be so confused and unable to recognize if the spike protein was  endogenous in origin, meaning naturally produced by the own body, or was it actually a foreign protein exogenous in origin it was forced to express?

 

 

In such an immunological scenario, the body may respond by producing anti nuclear antibodies to destroy all proteins in their paths including its own body organ and system proteins causing self-induced autoimmune diseases.

 

 

This may also result in myocarditis and pericarditis from reported cases observed in pockets of the population taking the mRNA vaccines.

 

 

Damages to the  lungs, kidney, blood clots,  and disorders of the nervous system resulting in  neuropathies associated with this vaccine  have already been reported in various countries.  

 

 

It may not happen until months or years later with Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome, before the possibility of multi-organ shut down.

 

 

However it is fair to say such an event may or may not happen in the distant future as far as I know as we have no clear evidence at the moment.

 

Should such an event arise, it is like choosing between the devil (the Covid itself) or the deep blue sea (the aftermath of mRNA vaccine)?

 

 

This may be the scenario at least in theory based on Hans Selye General Adaptation Syndrome.

 

But let’s hope this does not happen, and that the body may know how  to recognize and to deal with foreign nucleotides and artificially-induced proteins introduced into the body.

 

 

For the moment we have no clear evidence what the future events would be like after the pandemic curve flattens.