Transfer Factors: Scientifically Advanced Immune Support for Your Animals.

Here are some more details about TF+.
Perhaps more than you want to know.
Immunology is not a simple subject.
It is very, very complex.
It is one of those things that the more I know about it, the more I know I do not know.

Cytokines

The immune system has many different types of cells acting together to take care of unwanted infections and altered cells. Cytokines are the chemicals produced by these cells in order to communicate and orchestrate the attack. Just as hormones in the endocrine system can produce an effect on other cells, so cytokines can act on other immune cells, especially cells that are close by. Cytokines act as biochemical "messenger molecules". The "message" or "instruction" is sent by Signal Transduction to every cell of the immune system and others. Signal Transduction acts with a "Lock and Key" specificity. Glycoproteins are the cell wall receptors, made up of eight essential monosaccharides and comprising about 40% of the mass of the cell wall.

Cytokines have several important characteristics:

The same cytokine may be made by a number of different cells.

The same cytokine may have different effects in different circumstances. (This is called 'pleotropy')

Different cytokines may have the same activity depending on the situation ('redundancy').

Cytokines often act together and increase the effects of one another ('synergy'). They may also act as antagonists. [as IL-6 acting as a proinflammatory agent and IL-10 acting as an antiinflammatory agent]

Most cytokines have either paracrine or autocrine effects. Paracrine means they act on cells near to them or that they are actually touching. The autocrine function of IL-2 is well known because, when a T cell is stimulated to make IL-2, it stimulates itself via the IL-2 receptor to proliferate. An example of an uncommon endocrine function for cytokines is IL-1 which can cause fever by stimulating the hypothalamus.

Originally, the cytokines were named according to their function (like T cell growth factor, now called IL-2) but then the pleotropy of cytokines was observed, making function specific names confusing. After more and more cytokines were identified, and in order to avoid confusion, immunologists started naming some of the cytokines 'interleukins' (or IL for short) and numbering them as they were found. The first interleukin identified therefore was IL-1 and the most recent one is IL-16.

You will find that some cytokines are more important than others in basic immunology. Take a look at the following table. The functions of cytokines are best studied within the context of an actual immune response.

Table of cytokines

Cytokine Principle Source Principle Activities

IL-1 Macrophage T,B, cell activation;
IL-2 T cells T cell proliferation
IL-3 T cells Growth of many cell types
IL-4 T cells B cell growth/differentiation
IL-5 T cells B cell, eosinophil growth
IL-6 Macrophages B cell stimulation, inflammation
IL-7 stromal cells Early B/T cell differentiation
IL-8 Macrophages Neutrophil (PMN)attraction
IL-9 T cells mitogen
IL-10 T cells Inhibits Th1 cytokine production
IL-11 Bone marrow stroma Hematopoeisis
IL-12 APC Stimulates T, NK cells
IL-13 T cells Similar to IL-4 [B cell growth and differentiation]
IL-14 Dendritic cells,T cells B cell memory
IL-15 T cells same as IL-2 [T cell proliferation]
IFNa Most cells Anti-viral
IFNb Most cells Anti-viral
IFNg T, NK cells inflammation, activates macrophages TGFb macrophages,lymphocytes Depends on target TNFa Macrophage Inflammation; tumor killing
TNFb T cells Inflammation; tumor killing; enhances phagocytosis

Mac Barksdale DVM

References

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