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p 4 RESPONSE TO SCIENCE ARTICLE In Janet Raloff 's article released in Science News Online entitled The antibiotic vitamin : Deficiency in vitamin D may predispose people to infection ' the potential effects of vitamin D on infections is described . The article discloses several anecdotal reports and research results that claim that vitamin D triggers the immune system to combat bacterial infections . The immune system is composed of several processes that are aimed to defend the body against diseases by detecting and killing disease-causing pathogens and cancer cells . The innate immune system

, which is a category of the immune system that is triggered as soon as an infection occurs within the body , is highly capable of distinguishing non-self cells from its own normal cells and will perform specific actions in to prevent further circulation and proliferation of invading cells . The process of detecting non-self cells is complex because there are particular pathogens that continuously change their presentation in to trick the target cell from sensing its presence in the body

Numerous mechanisms have been created to achieve the role of recognition and neutralization of disease-causing pathogens . Examples of these mechanisms include the production of defensins , the employment of the complement system and the development of phagocytosis . More importantly , the immune system further developed to include different types of proteins that could identify and remember pathogens that invade the body . This immunological process facilitates in prevention of disease and establishment of immunity against persistent infective agents

Cathelicidins are chemicals that originate from neutrophils , which make up 70 of the white blood cells of the body and comprise an essential component of the immune system . These cells have unique staining features wherein these cells present a neutral pink color under hematoxylin and eosin (H E ) staining . Neutrophils are classified as phagocytes that circulate around the body searching for any event that they could perform they role as defenders of the immune system . Upon recognition of a bacterial infection in the body , neutrophils exit the circulating bloodstream and migrate to the site of infection through the process of chemotaxis . The role of neutrophils in bacterial infection is generally observed in the production of pus in site of tissue injury and infection . Pus is the white to yellow-colored secretion that is observed in wounds that are infected

The lifespan of a neutrophil lasts from 4 to 10 hours , of which it can be activated at any moment that a bacterial infection has been detected in the body . Once a neutrophil is activated , it positions itself close to the endothelial lining of the blood vessel and performs capture procedures that are triggered by the protein selectin . Consequently the neutrophil adhere to its new location where the inflammation is occurring . An activated neutrophil commonly last for 1 to 2 days Research has suggested that the short life span of neutrophils is an adaptation that prevents further distribution of the pathogens within the body after the neutrophils engulf the bacterial cell . This short existence of neutrophils may...