Definition
Lymphocytes are a subclass of leukocytes (white blood cells) that are the principal elements controlling the adaptive immune response, which develops in response to a particular antigenic stimulus. One special lymphocyte variety-the large granular lymphocyte-also plays a role in the antigen-independent innate immune response.
Characteristics
Lymphocyte Categories
In general, lymphocytes can be classified by either lineage (Figure 1) or function.
The three principal lineages of lymphocytes are B lymphocytes (B cells), T lymphocytes (T cells), and natural killer cells (NK cells). Activated B cells differentiate into plasma cells, which secrete the immunoglobulins (antibodies) that drive humoral immunity and serve to destroy extracellular pathogens and their products. Activated T lymphocytes power cell-mediated immunity, either by killing damaged cells directly-chiefly those expressing tumor antigens or products derived by intracellular pathogens (especially viruses)-or by...
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© 2005 Springer-Verlag
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Bolon, B. (2005). Lymphocytes. In: Vohr, HW. (eds) Encyclopedic Reference of Immunotoxicology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-27806-0_925
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-27806-0_925
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