Mistakes are human! Our bodies are no different from us. If you make a mistake, you can apologize and try to make it right before it becomes a fiasco. Sometimes it spreads and what was originally a small thing suddenly becomes a big problem. It's similar in our bodies. If incorrect information or incorrectly assembled molecules are not constantly checked and repaired, they spread throughout the body and can lead to illness.
Let’s look different error correction mechanisms in the body.
Rebuilding damaged barriers
In the last article we explained why intact barriers so important for the correct functioning of the body. They protect us from all imaginable dangers and at the same time allow all processes to take place undisturbed in their own spaces. Mistakes can also occur here, e.g. due to an incomplete construction of the barrier or due to breaks caused by external influences. If you cut your finger with a sharp knife while cooking, the skin will be damaged. From the first Hallmark of Health, you may still remember that the skin has the important function of protecting us from external environmental influences such as pathogens. If the cut is deep, bacteria or viruses can penetrate your bloodstream more easily and you run the risk of getting blood poisoning.
To prevent this, various mechanisms are started. First, you bleed until clotting factors and platelets collect at the wound and help to stop the bleeding. At the same time, immune cells migrate to the wound to directly fight any pathogens that have penetrated. The wound then scabs over and after several days or weeks a new layer of skin forms, which, depending on the size and depth of the wound, remains visible as a scar. This means that the skin barrier is intact again!
Encapsulate foreign bodies
If pathogens have penetrated our organism, the body tries to encapsulate the pathogens so that they cannot cause any damage. A kind of net is formed from various immune cells, DNA and antibiotic proteins, which serves as a trap for the pathogens. A thrombus is popularly known as a blood clot. In order to close off blood vessels, e.g. after an injury, thrombi form at the affected site. They can also effectively prevent the spread of pathogens in the bloodstream. However, these blood clots also carry a high risk of embolisms (blockages in the blood vessels).
Safety system inflammation
You've probably experienced it before - a reddened wound, a hot swelling, a large, painful pimple. What bothers and restricts us can sometimes save our lives. Inflammation is our body's natural reaction to foreign bodies when they cannot be eliminated in time by other mechanisms - a kind of back-up system when the direct defense fails or needs more time. Inflammation typically presents itself with the five cardinal symptoms of pain, swelling, warmth, redness and loss of function.
The redness and swelling are caused by increased blood flow to the affected tissue. Heat is generated by the increased metabolic activity, and the pain and loss of function force us to protect the affected part of the body. These mechanisms are also important in that they allow the body to limit the inflammation locally and avoid overreactions. In the case of flu infections, pathogens spread more widely in the body. In this case, a local inflammatory reaction is no longer sufficient and we get a fever, feel weak, and sometimes the mucous membranes swell.
If the immune system has been able to overwhelm the pathogen or if the wound has healed, the inflammation subsides. This is important because long-term inflammation causes lasting damage to healthy tissue. Chronic low-level inflammation contributes significantly to aging. In professional circles, the process is known as "inflammaging" known.
Innate and acquired immune system
Now let us come to the holy grail of our health – the Immune system. Although the body already has many sophisticated mechanisms to protect us, the most complex and at the same time the smartest program is the immune system. It is divided into innate and acquired systems. As the name suggests, the innate immune system is present from birth, while the acquired system only improves over time and various infections. The innate immune system also includes barriers such as the skin.
Things get complex when pathogens penetrate further into the body. There they are already awaited by some cells of the innate system, such as killer and phagocytes. The killer cells use a protein complex on the surface of each cell to recognize whether it belongs to the body or not. If the cell is of foreign origin, they activate a mechanism that causes the unknown cell to die.
A strong acquired immune system can only be achieved through "training". Once the body and the immune system recognize pathogens as foreign, "enemy" information is stored. The next time the body is infected with the same pathogen, the acquired immune system can then react more quickly. Infections are therefore the gym of our defenses. A good example of this is classic childhood diseases such as measles, chickenpox or whooping cough. If you have already had one of these as a child, you generally no longer need to worry. Most of these diseases are easier for children to tolerate, but can be more dangerous for adults, especially pregnant women.
Cancer surveillance system
Cancer - this term scares many people. But did you know that cancerous cells develop in our bodies every day, which would mature into malignant tumors without our immune system? Cancer can be triggered in many different ways. What they all have in common is uncontrolled cell division, which then leads to tumors. Normally, the cells in our body only divide when necessary and according to certain rhythms. Tumors, however, result in abnormal, uncontrolled cell growth. A major problem is that damaged cells are not sorted out as usual. They continue to divide because the control mechanisms are damaged. This uncontrolled proliferation leads to even more errors creeping into the genetic information or the corresponding mechanisms.
It's good that the whole body and every cell is constantly monitored by our immune system. Mistakes that could normally lead to tumor development are recognized and eliminated early by our immune system. Only when a mutation allows certain cells to grow under the radar of the immune system do the tumor cells continue to divide uncontrollably and open the door to malignancy.
Young body, old cells
Another major topic is the SenescenceWe have already discussed this in more detail in another article, so here is just the short version. Senescence means a standstill in cell division. When cells have already divided often enough and the ends of the chromosomes, also known as telomeres, are shortened, cells become senescent. However, there are also other factors that can trigger cellular senescence. For example, metabolic products that arise from a faulty process. These metabolic products or other danger indicators trigger the state of senescence. The affected cell therefore no longer divides and the errors and dangers cannot be passed on.
Both senescence and regularly triggered cell death are processes that we will look at further in the next Hallmark of Health We will be watching this video. It is about the Recycling of cell components, through which our body system can always be kept “up to date”.
Sources
Literature:
López-Otín, Carlos, and Guido Kroemer. “Hallmarks of health.”Cell184.1 (2021): 33-63.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33340459/
Images:
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