BRAINCAKEThe Effector Stage
In the specific immune response, effector cells are the cells that actually carry out the attack on the pathogen. In the humoral response the effector cells are plasma cells, and the effector stage is when they secrete large quantities of antibodies.
Plasma cells are specialised for making and secreting protein. They have:
• a large amount of rough endoplasmic reticulum, where ribosomes synthesise the antibody polypeptides
• a large Golgi apparatus, which modifies the antibodies (adding carbohydrate to form glycoproteins) and packages them into vesicles
• many mitochondria to supply ATP for protein synthesis and secretion.
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Key terms in this lesson
- golgi apparatus
- An organelle made of stacked, flattened membranous sacs that modifies, packages and sorts proteins, often adding carbohydrate to form glycoproteins.
More in Response to Infection
- Lymphocytes
- B cells
- T Cells
- The Humoral Response
- Clonal Selection
- Antibodies
- The Cell-Mediated Response
- Cytotoxic T Cells
All 20 lessons in Response to Infection · All Edexcel A-level Biology topics