PAMP

• What would happen if all the diseases in the world hit us at the exact same time?
• – Gabriella, age 12, Irving, Texas
  What would happen if all the diseases in the world hit us at the exact same time?
• – Gabriella, age 12, Irving, Texas When I was younger, I would watch “Batman” on my black-and-white television after school.
• In fact, sometimes fighting off one enemy can leave a hole in your defenses that another opportunistic pathogen can take advantage of.

BAM! Understanding the rivals

• The potential bad guys include cancer cells and dangerous microorganisms – including bacteria, viruses, fungi and more – that cause infections.
• The immune system must also be careful not to damage healthy cells and beneficial microorganisms that live on and inside you.

• Your skin, snot, saliva and tears form a critical first line of defense.
• Gathering an army of immune cells to fight pathogens takes a lot of energy and makes you feel awful.

BOOM! Where are their weaknesses?

• Pathogens have specific parts on their surfaces called pathogen associated molecular patterns, or PAMPs.
• Because the same PAMP is present on many different pathogens, a strategy to combat one PAMP can defeat many pathogens.
• There are molecules in cells all over your body that can recognize PAMPS and destroy anything those PAMPS are on.

SPLAT! Raising an army of defenders

• When the virus that causes COVID-19 emerged in 2019, it was something people’s immune systems likely had never seen before.
• The immune system makes many immune cells that are specific to antigens, or unique and recognizable parts of cancers and microorganisms, it hasn’t encountered before.
• The DNA in each of these immune cells is different from the DNA in any other cell in your body.
• Since pathogens can also multiply rapidly, clonal selection allows you to rapidly raise an army to fight them.
• It would take a tremendous amount of energy and time to build an appropriate army against each microorganism all at once.

Joseph Larkin III receives funding from the Grayson Jockey Research Foundation, The National Institutes of Health, and industry.