Got Tonsils?

If you’re like me, you probably don’t go around thinking about the B cell activation of outer membrane vesicles. In fact, you’re probably sitting there thinking,”What the heck is she talking about?” Well, that’s exactly what I’m going to tell you. It just so happens that a group of scientists experimented to find out whether B cells can sometimes carry a bacteria called Moraxella catarrhalis to our tonsils or adenoids so that we contract laryngitis, the inflammation and irritation of your voice box that can cause you to lose your voice, or even the flu, which we all know and of course love...not. Basically, they were trying to figure out how these cells and bacteria interact with each other in order to make us sick.

I’m sure that if you are a human without supernatural powers like Superman you have most likely been sick at one time during your life, and that one of those times, you had a problem with your tonsils. I know I certainly have. Some of you might have even had yours taken out, if so you are more brave than I was. Maybe your tonsils were used in an experiment. That was the case for some children under 12 years of age. The scientists conducted this experiment using some children’s tonsils and isolating the B cells (a type of white blood cell located in your lymph nodes, like your tonsils, adenoids, or your armpits) to figure out if they had been activated by M.catarrhalis. How cool would it be if your tonsils were used in an experiment?! I think it would be cool, just saying.

Anyways, so B cells as I said earlier can produce antibodies, which are those things like white blood cells that recognize a certain bacteria and attack it, a.k.a. the reason why we get shots. If the bacteria is able to infiltrate the B cells, like spies on a secret mission, and cause them to begin making the wrong antibodies, it could be quite harmful to our body. If the B cells produce the wrong antibodies then your immune system, that thing that keeps you from getting sick every time you come in contact with a germ, will have its guard down, and the bacteria would be able to infect you without much response from your white blood cells or antibodies.

I have not yet really told you what M.catarrhalis is or really what it does. M.catarrhalis is an aerobic bacteria, meaning it needs oxygen to grow, that effects the areas above the opening in your throat, basically your adenoids; sinuses; and tonsils. So as I said earlier, it causes the flu and laryngitis, however this nasty germ can do much more than that. I’m pretty sure that you’ve never heard of sinusitis, but it’s basically a sinus infection that is caused by M.catarrhalis. I know, gross right. It can also cause bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infections, and even sometimes meningitis (scary). All those are pretty easy to understand and also pretty common. However, this germ can also cause exacerbations or increases in the severity of obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is the chronic or continual blockage of air flow through, into, and our of your lungs. Obviously, M.catarrhalis is not a good thing.

Now that you understand the bacteria and the B cells, I will attempt to explain how they relate to each other. B cells are able to absorb bacteria because they are white blood cells, however if they absorb a bacteria that is able to change the antibodies so that they do not attack the bacteria, but rather travel throughout the body, this makes your immune system weak, leaving you open to bacteria that can attack your body and make you sick. Thus, in the experiment, it was found that Moraxella catarrhalis can activate the B cells and cause them to produce incorrect antibodies. I think that this topic is extremely interesting, and I hope that you have learned just a little bit about B cells and maybe even your immune system. I hope that this blog finds all of you well. Don’t get sick! :)

Cardell, Lars-Olaf; Jendholm, Johan; Larsson, Christer; Mansson, Anne; Morgelin, Matthias; Reisbeck, Kristian; Vidakovics, Maria Laura A. Perez; B Cell Activation by Outer Membrane Vesicles--A Novel Virulence Mechanism. PLoS Pathogens. January 2010. Volume 6 Issue 1.
http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&hid=117&sid=c6b3fc91-12d6-4e95-9edd-9e7451dfa126%40sessionmgr113
ADAM, “Laryngitis,” https://health.google.com/health/ref/Laryngitis
ADAM, “Sinusitis,” https://health.google.com/health/ref/Sinusitis
MedicineNet.com, “COPD(Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments,” http://www.medicinenet.com/chronic_obstructive_pulmonary_disease_copd/article.htm
eMedicine, “Moraxella Catarrhalis Infections,” http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/222320-overview
NIDCD, “Ear Infections in Children,”
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/earinfections
The Free Dictionary, “Moraxella catarrhalis,”
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com
Kate and Neil’s Awesome Website, http://www.kateandneil.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/tonsils.jpg