Difference between helper t cell and cytotoxic t cell
Answers
Helper T cells do not directly kill infected cells, as cytotoxic T cells do. Instead they help activate cytotoxic T cells and macrophages to attack infected cells, or they stimulate B cells to secrete antibodies. Helper T cells become activated by interacting with antigen-presenting cells, such as macrophages. Antigen-presenting cells ingest a microbe, partially degrade it, and export fragments of the microbe—i.e., antigens—to the cell surface, where they are presented in association with class II MHC molecules. A receptor on the surface of the helper T cell then binds to the MHC-antigen complex. But this event alone does not activate the helper T cell. Another signal is required, and it is provided in one of two ways: either through stimulation by a cytokine or through a costimulatory reaction between the signaling protein, B7, found on the surface of the antigen-presenting cell, and the receptor protein, CD28, on the surface of the helper T cell. If the first signal and one of the second signals are received, the helper T cell becomes activated to proliferate and to stimulate the appropriate immune cell. If only the first signal is received, the T cell may be rendered anergic—that is, unable to respond to antigen