Asked by jay
What would cause antibodies to attack the cells of the body?
The cells support bacterial growth.
The cells are worn out and need to be replaced.
The antibodies mistakenly identify the cells as foreign material.
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
"The antibodies mistakenly identify the cells as foreign material." is correct.
Explanation (brief):
- Antibodies attack cells when they bind antigens on the cell surface — usually because the immune system thinks those antigens are foreign. This occurs in autoimmune disease (self-antigens are misrecognized), after infections that cause cross‑reactive antibodies (molecular mimicry), or when cells display foreign/altered antigens (infected or cancerous cells).
- Cells being worn out are normally cleared by phagocytes without antibody attack, and simply supporting bacterial growth doesn’t by itself cause antibodies to target the host cell unless the bacteria or their antigens are presented on the cell surface.
Explanation (brief):
- Antibodies attack cells when they bind antigens on the cell surface — usually because the immune system thinks those antigens are foreign. This occurs in autoimmune disease (self-antigens are misrecognized), after infections that cause cross‑reactive antibodies (molecular mimicry), or when cells display foreign/altered antigens (infected or cancerous cells).
- Cells being worn out are normally cleared by phagocytes without antibody attack, and simply supporting bacterial growth doesn’t by itself cause antibodies to target the host cell unless the bacteria or their antigens are presented on the cell surface.
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