Familiarity with the human immune system

Man, as the best of creatures on earth, is a being that has two physical and spiritual dimensions, and to protect each of these two dimensions of his existence, he naturally needs two defense systems: 

One for the physical dimension – which is examined in the field of immunology – and the other for the spiritual dimension.

The science of immunology is defined in one sentence as “the ability to recognize and distinguish the insider from the outsider”, but behind this seemingly simple definition, there is a sea of ​​surprises.
In the body, which is the lowest level of human existence, there are a lot of complex immunological mechanisms, so there must be similar laws in the world of meaning, which actually includes our spiritual dimension, so that our higher dimension (spiritual) ) to be protected from the bites of pests and to be provided with “safety” which is the purpose of human creation.
Believers of the school, “being is lawful” and everything that exists is governed by general and comprehensive laws. In this school, the world is a whole and every element of the world is a part of this whole. There is harmony, sympathy and unity between the parts of the world, and an eternal and all-inclusive law governs existence. According to them, these laws are the manifestation of the divine essence in the world.
Instead, atomism and dissociative approaches gained strength in the form of the mechanistic school. The dramatic developments in natural science, which in the history of science have been called the era of the scientific revolution (17th century) and the period known as the industrial revolution (18th and 19th centuries), were among the introductions of the atomic trend to the world.
The organic way of thinking emphasizes new concepts such as “totality”, “system”, “hierarchy” and “dynamics of biological phenomena”. From this point of view, a living being is a general organism, many of its characteristics are not derived from the sum of the properties of the parts, but from its wholeness.

 In a living organism, there is no reaction called static equilibrium, on the contrary, every living organism is always “becoming”.

According to Molavi:

How many times has this atmosphere changed into water,       
the image of the moon and the image of the stars, on the other hand,
brother of the mind, one breath in itself, one     
breath after another, and the spring
is renewed breath by breath, the world and we      
are free from the renewal of life.

And as Hatef Esfahani says,
open your eyes and you will see life  

What is invisible is that nose,
the heart of every particle, whose   
sunny slit in the middle of the nose
brought you to the point where you saw “one”    
of the world and the worlds.

What you don’t like on yourself, you don’t like on others.
The basis of the science of faith
is how the body knows the self from the non-self.

In the words of Dr. Bahram Elahi:
For the man of this time, it is a tangible and understandable spirituality that finds its forms and terms in today’s life, especially in the experimental sciences that our current world is affected by.
In fact, the scientific system that governs spirituality is so precise that we can clearly observe a remarkable symmetry between the material and spiritual dimensions of the “inside”.
Immunity can be innate or acquired.
Inherent safety: 

It includes the processes and elements that a person is born with and these elements are present without prior preparation to protect the person in the fight against the foreign invader. These elements generally include body surfaces and internal body components. Body surfaces such as the skin and mucous membranes of the body and the reaction of sneezing and coughing, which create an effective barrier against environmental factors. Several internal elements also represent innate immunity, including fever and a series of substances secreted from white blood cells (leukocytes) such as interferon, as well as a series of proteins in the serum such as betalysin, lysozyme enzyme.
This type of immunity at birth can be compared to pure human nature. A type of basic immunity that is very simple, but at the same time it is considered as a basis for helping to fight against spiritual pathogens. “Biological innate immunity” is the same as “spiritual innate immunity” or “conscience intuition”.
We are all created with a good nature. This level of security can detect the flaws of the vices and combat their mild variants.
Acquired immunity: It is more specific than innate immunity and exists only in vertebrates. This type of immunity is manifested when a person comes into contact with an external factor. The initial contact with the foreign agent starts a chain of events that leads to the activation of a special type of white blood cells called lymphocytes, and these cells produce proteins with special properties against foreign agents, which are called “antibodies”. They say “windy”. With this process, the person becomes more resistant in the next encounter with the harassing factor and gains so-called immunity, which is called acquired immunity.
In fact, specific immunity is a mechanism that humans need when they come into this world (antigen encounter) and it is actually having the “option” that makes the existence of this system necessary. There are so many external factors and veils in this world that the innate (innate) immunity (nabi batin) is no longer enough to fight against them, and there is a need for an external prophet and guidance from their teachings in order to prevent dealing with external factors (vices) in this way. And if they are not avoided, fight with them appropriately.
According to Maulavi,
there are hundreds of thousands of animals and seeds, oh our God, like captive and poor chickens.
These external factors, which are considered “obstacles to perfection” according to Maulana, some of them are “cognitive obstacles” to perfection, such as: relying on the external senses, Illusion and fantasy, following partial reason, blind imitation, etc., and a number of other “non-cognitive obstacles” to perfection, such as attachment to the world and wealth, arrogance, lust, envy, anger, etc. In the (antigen and antibody) section, we mention and compare them with the body’s immune system.
There is no evil worse than not knowing your friend and not knowing you lost love
(Masnavi third book).
The process of intentionally creating acquired immunity is called vaccination (vaccine injection). It means that a baby, a child or an adult is deliberately exposed to a pathogen so that the person becomes immune to it and in future encounters with the same pathogen, his body is resistant to it. The compound against which the acquired immune response is created is called “antigen”.
Immunization is done in two ways, active and passive. In the active type, such as Edward Jenner’s experience and daily vaccination, the individual’s immune system is activated by antigen administration. But in the inactive or passive (transient) type, the non-immune person becomes immune by transferring the antibody against the external stimulus.

1- Specificity
2- Differentiation between self and non-self: the ability to recognize and respond to foreign and non-self molecules and avoid responding to self molecules is another characteristic of the immune response. In fact, self and non-self are two manifestations of the same truth. 

It was not without reason that Maulvi said that
I love him because of his grace and because of his anger. Surprisingly, I love both of them.
3- Immune memory: One of the characteristics of the body’s immune system (like the nervous system) is the ability to remember previous contact with foreign molecules. and produces a larger and faster response due to “prior learning”. We should also take inspiration from this section and make all the virtues the queen of the mind so that we can overcome them in the face of sufferings.
4- Diversity: the immune system is able to respond to a wide range of antigens with different molecular structures and is able to respond to molecules that the body has not encountered before. The reason for this is due to the changeable molecular structure of antigen binding sites on the membrane of lymphocytes, i.e. the cells responsible for the immune response.
5- Self-limitation: all immune responses decrease over time and after stopping the antigen stimulation, and the lymphocytes that were stimulated by the antigen for immune response, after performing the task, i.e. distinguishing the foreign from the self and destroying it. , they either disappear or turn into memory cells that are potentially silent and responsible for creating memories in the immune system.

Any excess in life (in any work) can lead us astray. Therefore, control mechanisms must be in place so that man can walk the line of moderation on the path of spiritual safety.
Specific immune responses are divided into two groups based on the components participating in the response:
1- Humoral immunity : This type of immunity is mediated by molecules that exist in the blood and are responsible for the specific identification of antigens and are responsible for their destruction. . These molecules are the same as antibodies.
2- Cellular immunity : this type of immunity is mediated by T cells.

In general, every immune response to a foreign agent consists of 3 parts: the recognition stage, the activation stage, and the implementation stage.
1) The recognition stage: In this stage, foreign antigens bind to their specific receptors on the surface of mature lymphocytes. become
2) Activation stage: In this stage of the immune response, following the specific recognition of the antigen, lymphocytes multiply and differentiate. Proliferation will cause the expansion of specific antigen-specific lymphocytes. A group of cells become functional, whose task is to repel antigens, and another group become cells responsible for maintaining immune memory, and another group dies.
3) Implementation stage: It is a stage similar to the preparation of humans in the stage of pestilence and equipping all forces to fight against the air (antigens).

In fact, according to Rumi’s interpretation, it is “Jam Badeh” next to the performance stage, which is placed next to “Jaad Yar”.
One hand is a cup of wind and the other is a
dance partner. I know that this is a dream

“Ghazliat Shams”

So, in fact, the stage of implementation of the specific immune response is a kind of intensification and concentration of the defense mechanisms of innate immunity and is comparable to the stage of human campaign and war, that is, the Great Jihad. And indeed, it is very similar to this field of Jihad. Because in the Great Jihad, man forgets his physical self and actually prepares for annihilation, but dies in annihilation! This is easily the case in the body’s immune system, all the forces and defenses of the body that have been mentioned are united with a lot of love and only with the intention of destroying the alien and protecting the safety and security of the body, completely romantically to the limit. Annihilation! they try
In general, any foreign substance that triggers an immune response in a person’s body is called an immunogen. Antigen is any factor that specifically binds to lymphocytes and antibodies (specific immune components).
So, all immunogens are antigens, but not all antigens are immunogenic, and conditions are necessary for immunogenicity. The most important of these conditions are: foreignness, high molecular weight, molecular and chemical complexity,
the help of antigens or haptens: there are a series of antigens that, due to their low molecular weight, despite binding to specific receptors on cells, have the ability to stimulate an immune response. do not have These substances are called haptens. If these molecules are connected with compounds with high molecular weight, they become an immunogenic substance.
Epitope: In antibodies or lymphocyte receptors, there is a site for binding to antigen, which in terms of structure becomes a complementary template of a specific antigen. This part of the antigen that specifically binds to the binding site of the antibody is called the antigenic index or epitope. Antigens may have a binding site or epitope in their molecules, in which case this part is actually the same hapten, and may also contain a large number of similar epitopes on one molecule. The most common type of antigens is in the form of a protein molecule that contains several antigenic indicators with different structures in this molecule.

In terms of chemical structure, antigens are divided into several categories:
1- Proteins: they are the main category of antigens and contain several types of epitopes in their molecules. (They are multi-index antigens). The more complex the protein structure, the stronger the immune response.
2- Polysaccharides: they are potentially, but not always, immunogenic. They are usually part of a complex structure, such as cell surface glycoproteins, which generally trigger an immune response, part of which is related to the polysaccharide part of the molecule. An example of this in humans is the immune response against ABO blood groups, which are polysaccharide antigens.
3- Nucleic acids
4- Lipids: they often act as haptens and are not immunogenic on their own.

They are soluble proteins that are secreted by B lymphocytes in response to antigen stimulation and can bind specifically to antigens. They are also called immunoglobulins, antibodies, anti-crogammaglobulins (due to being in the gamma region of serum electrophoresis). They make up about 20% of plasma proteins and their structure is glycoproteins, depending on their type, 82-96% of them are proteins and 18-4% of them are made of sugar.
The general structure of all antibody molecules is similar to each other and this similarity is due to the sharing of some specific physicochemical characteristics, such as electric charge and solubility among them. Heavy and light chains of antibodies are connected by disulfide bonds. In addition to interchain disulfide bonds, there are also intrachain disulfide bonds that create a loop in the chain and create a dense structure for immunoglobulin. It is not easily broken down by enzymes into oligopeptides or amino acids. The antibody molecule can be broken by enzymes only in limited areas.
Biological Properties of Immunoglobulins
In 1959, Ronnie Robert Porter for the first time divided the IgG molecule into three parts by means of the plant enzyme papain in the vicinity of cysteine ​​from the hinge region. A part of the antibody molecule that binds to the antigen and consists of two affinity points is called Fab, and the other part, which is easily crystallized, is called the crystallizable fragment or Fc. Each Fab fragment consists of a light chain and half of a heavy chain called Fd, which are connected by a disulfide bond. The biological properties of the antibody molecule must be related to its Fc fragment.
1- Activating proteins of the complement system
2- Crossing the placenta: only IgG
3- Immunoglobulins can be attached to the surface of cells of the immune system and some other cells from the Fc region and make the cells perform a series of biological actions such as intensifying xenophobia or to force the release of mast cells and basophils. In terms of quantity,
IgG
IgG constitutes the most immunoglobulin in the serum and internal secretions of the body. It has four subclasses, and the amount of IgG1 is the highest (60-70%). Its half-life is on average 21-23 days (except for IgG3, which is 7-9 days), and in cases of gamma globulin deficiency or deficiency, its half-life increases. For this reason, the said antibody is the most suitable immunoglobulin for passive immunization. In cases of increased IgG concentration, such as multiple myeloma, its half-life decreases. The normal value of IgG in adults is 1250 mg/dl.
The importance of IgG is in its passage through the placenta and the transfer of immunity from mother to baby, and maternal immunoglobulins remain in the baby’s body until the 8th or 9th month of age. This antibody protects the baby against infections that the mother has immunity to. has
IgA is the second most abundant serum immunoglobulin. Its molecule in the serum is usually in the form of a monomer, but the external secretions of the body, including the secretions of respiratory and digestive mucus, are in the form of a dimer. That is, it usually consists of two structural units of the antibody, which are mostly connected by the Fc region. The connecting factor is a glycoprotein molecule with a domain called the connecting chain or J-chain, which is produced by plasma cells in the layer of the lamina propria of the mucosa. In addition, the secretory IgA molecule has a secretory fragment that is produced by the mucous membrane cells and external secretory glands of humans and other animals.
IgM
IgM is the largest immunoglobulin in the body and exists as a polymer in the body. It consists of five completely similar structural units that are connected by disulfide bonds in the CH3 and CH4 regions, and with it an additional polypeptide chain called J-Chain or connecting chain with disulfide bonds, the ends of the two The heavy chain connects the ends of the pentamer ring to the IgM molecule. IgM molecules are secreted in a small amount in the body’s external secretions and contain a secretory fragment (like SIgA). The normal amount of IgM in an adult is about 100 mg/dl and its half-life is 5 days. The amount of
IgD
in the serum is very low, around 20-50, and in 30% of people, it is less than this amount. It is much more sensitive to heat, acid and reducing agents compared to other immunoglobulin classes. Mature B lymphocytes have IgD molecules and IgM monomers in the structure of the cell membrane, which act as antigen receptors on the B cell surface.
IgE
IgE is the lowest immunoglobulin in the body in terms of quantity. It is in the form of monomer in serum and body fluids. Its half-life in the serum is two and a half days, but on the surface of basophil cells and mast cells, it is 2 to 3 weeks. Like IgD, it is sensitive to heat, acid and reducing substances. The normal amount of serum IgE in adults is 0.01 mg/dl, and its amount is usually expressed in international units, where each international unit is equal to 2.3 nanograms of IgE . Its amount is 90 international units in one cubic centimeter of serum, which of course varies between 29 and 800. Its amount increases in parasitic diseases and allergic diseases.
This antibody is called hemocytotropic or cell friendly. The reason is that even in the absence of antigen, IgE molecules bind to basophils and mast cells. Because these cells have receptors with high affinity for the Fc part of the IgE molecule . The formation of the IgE and antigen complex leads to the release of reactive substances such as histamine, and on the other hand, it leads to the production of arachidonic acid metabolism products such as leukotrienes and prostaglandins, which cause allergic manifestations and anaphylaxis. These reactions and immune responses in which the immune response to a foreign antigen is harmful to the body are called hypersensitivity reactions, in one of which (type I), the IgE antibody plays an important role.

The executive function of an antibody molecule begins with binding to an antigen, which leads to different consequences depending on the structure, isotype and anatomical location:
1- Membrane antibodies : Binding of antigen to B cells specific for that antigen is considered a message. It can be the initiator of the proliferation process of the same lymphocyte clone and antibody secretion. Antigen recognition is done by membrane antibodies on the surface of B cells. These membrane immunoglobulin molecules are slightly different from the immunoglobulin molecule of the same isotype in terms of structure, and have a peptide chain with 26 additional amino acids at the carboxyl end, which pass through the membrane and reach the cytoplasm.
2- Antigen neutralization by secretory antibody : As it was said about viruses and IgG, secretory antibodies by occupying the antigenic sites of pathogens such as toxins, drugs, viruses and bacteria, prevent them from binding to the recipient. prevent them in the cells of the body and thus neutralize the harmful factors.
3- Antibody compatibility : Many actions of antibody molecules are performed by their Fc part, and for this reason, on the one hand, B cells can make different isotypes of the same type of immunoglobulin without the antigen binding site. to undergo change. The production of these different isotypes of the heavy chain directs humoral immune responses to different functional pathways, and by maintaining the specificity of that type of antibody for the antigen, various executive actions are activated. This is called antibody compatibility.
4- Activation of complement by IgG and IgM : complement or complement includes a family of serum proteins that are activated following a cascade process and produce various executive molecules and generally complement the action of antibodies in They act to lyse specific target cells and mediate many cell lysing and inflammatory actions of humoral immunity. Only some specific isotypes are able to activate complement (from the classical pathway), which include IgG1, IgG3, IgM.
5- Opsonization or Facilitation of Ingestion : Mononuclear phagocytes and granulocytes are both capable of ingesting particulate compounds before internal cellular disintegration and destruction, which is called xenophagy, which involves binding to foreign particles and then encapsulating the particle. It is inside the membrane. Both of these cells contain receptors for the Fc part of the gamma chain () related to IgG, which cause the specific binding of the phagocyte membrane to foreign particles and a significant increase in the process of phagocytosis. This process is called opsonization. In addition to increasing the attachment of particles to phagocytes, the binding of IgG to the cell surface receptor will probably increase the metabolic activity of phagocytes, which will increase the internal destruction of ingested particles.
6- IgA-mediated mucosal immunity : already mentioned.
7- Yameni in infancy mediated by maternal IgG
8- Antibody-dependent and cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC): In many substances, it is necessary that the target cell is covered by its own specific immunoglobulin, especially the IgG isotype, before lysis by leukocytes, which recognizes the bound antibody through a leukocyte receptor with a low binding affinity for the Fc part of the chain. Gamma is done. Its name is CD16 marker and it is located on the surface of NK cells and neutrophils. This type of destruction process is called antibody-dependent and cell-mediated killing (ADCC).
The binding of IgG to the target cells makes it easier to identify these cells by NK, which play the main role in the ADCC process, and secondly, it causes the activation of NK cells to produce and secrete cytokines such as the action of necrosis factor. tumor donor (TNF) that these cytokines together with the granules released by these cells act as mediators of inflammatory and cell lysing reactions. Interestingly, the monomeric IgGs in the plasma are unable to stimulate NK cells due to the low binding affinity of this receptor. A similar mechanism is implemented by eosinophils and IgE to eliminate parasites such as worms. Neutrophils and mononuclear phagocytes are unable to lyse parasites.
9- Physical inhibition of immune responses : a population of lymphocytes also have receptors for the Fc part of different immunoglobulin isotypes that are able to regulate the action of lymphocytes, including the binding of IgG from the Fc part to its receptor on the surface of B cells, which inhibits cell activity. B leads.
The power of knowledge and evil thoughts is not so great that there is no need to arouse high responses of the soul to them, which we call such thoughts spiritual antigens.
The spiritual antibody is actually the positive, high, and divine thoughts that humans produce against evil, evil, and evil thoughts.
The raw materials of this factory are small intentions that we show according to our duty and for God’s pleasure, and the antibody is actually positive and great thoughts and our actions are actually the result of the victory of this antibody over the spiritual antigen.

1- The more intellectual the thought,
2- The more rational the degree
, 3- The more complex that thought is,
external antigens originate from negative human spirits, people who are intellectually and spiritually infected are very dangerous and They pollute the human soul. Some of them are internal antigens that are aroused from within the human being, and in the world of meaning, they are the same upheavals and outbursts of our soul, which, according to the text of the Qur’an, becomes rebellious as a result of richness. A) Plagues and epistemic obstacles to
human perfection
1- Relying on the external senses: According to Rumi, the five external senses play a very small and insignificant role in knowing the truths of the world.
gives
3- Following the partial reason: The partial reason is a prisoner of human perceptions, and the whole geography of his knowledge is limited to the awareness that tools and devices bring to him, and this causes his eyes to remain closed from seeing the truth.
Rumi is of the opinion that reason is a part of tyranny and selfishness. He claims that he knows all the secrets of the world, but this is exactly the reason why he cannot understand love, and this is also the reason why he was driven from the threshold of God.
4- Following whims and fancies: A person’s soul is an inferno that burns his whole existence like a spark from it grabs his skirt and his insatiable appetite increases every moment.
The abundance of antigens requires the abundance of antibodies in terms of type and function.
Talab is also the first house of the seven houses of mysticism.
The xenophagous system (phagocytosis)
The main xenophages include neutrophils and monocytes, which neutrophils are involved in acute inflammation and kill microbes, and the latter are involved in chronic inflammation. Neutrophils and monocytes are derived from a multivalent progenitor cell in the bone marrow.
Under normal conditions, these cells stay in this reservoir for about 5 days, and then they are released in the blood circulation, which are in the blood circulation for about 8-10 hours, and then they migrate to the tissues, where they stay for 1-2 days. They survive.
 Monocytes: One of the characteristics of these large xenophagous cells is the presence of a large lobule nucleus and abundant gray cytoplasm, which have fine azurophilic granules. They normally make up 1-5% of circulating leukocytes. Unlike neutrophils, monocytes do not have an additional reservoir in the bone marrow, and mature monocytes are released into the circulation several days earlier than neutrophils in the bone marrow. The half-life of monocytes in the blood is 8 hours. The ability to perform various acts of xenophagy in inflammation sites, in response to bacterial products, is more in the case of monocytes than neutrophils. Despite these neutrophils, they are the main xenophagous cells because they move faster than monocytes.
After the monocytes leave the blood circulation, they enter the tissue, where they become tissue macrophages, which survive for up to 2 years, and their function is to remove waste materials and digested bacteria.
The ability of xenophagous cells to migrate to places of infection or inflammation or the phenomenon of chemotaxis is known.
Eating particles is an active process that is accompanied by the accumulation and separation of contractile elements and the formation of false legs around foreign particles and finally creating a phagosome. After the complete ingestion of the foreign particle and the formation of the phagosome, the internal granules of the cell are attached to the membrane of the phagosome and pour their contents into it (degranulation process), which kills and digests the microbes. Sometimes, irritations caused by soluble chemotaxis substances at the site of inflammation cause the accumulation of microtubules to be messed up, and as a result, they cause the interruption of swallowing and the transformation of xenophagous cells into a secretory state, and the contents of the granules spill out of the cell and stop the flow of inflammation. intensifies
The germ-killing device of xenophagous cells includes substances such as superoxide anion (O2), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hydroxyl radical (OH) and bacteria-killing aldehydes (RCHO), hypochlorous acid and chloramines, and secretory substances of cellular respiration. Myloperoxide, which is present in azurophilic granules that enters the phagosome during the degranulation process, causes the intensification of these activities through halogens such as iodine and chlorine.
The most basic function of the immune system is to differentiate between the foreign and the foreign. In other words, the body’s defense system must use specific and calculated processes and tools to achieve this goal. It is obvious that the first prayer and necessity in this direction is the presence of special signs and codes on the surface of the cells and tissues of the body, by which all the cells and tissues of the body are considered as insiders for the defense system.