The immune system is a complex network with a variety of working elements, each with very specific functions. Peptides provide communication throughout the network, and coordinate and control immune system actions. The building blocks of peptides are amino acids. Peptides are referred to as cytokines in the immune system and through their communication ability they create a chain reaction of activity from cell to cell through "cytokine circuits" to generate and then control the immune response.

It's a Remarkable Network

The immune system is a network of cells, molecules and organs. The cells include a variety of white blood cell types such as T-cells, Natural Killer cells, B-cells, Macrophages, and Dendrite cells, each with very specific functions. There are also a variety of chemical messenger molecules called peptides that activate those cells. And finally, there are major immune system organs such as the spleen, the bone marrow, the thymus gland and the lymph nodes that produce and store these cells and molecules. The successful performance of the immune system is dependent upon clear communication among all parts of the network and the effective activation of special cell groups in response to invading organisms or malfunctioning cells. Peptides are the foundation for this critical communication and network coordination.

Each individual immune cell in your system has receptors on the cell surface to accept these chemical messengers called peptides. Peptides are made up of chains of individual amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of peptides and proteins.

Amino Acids……the Building Blocks of Peptides

There are 20 different amino acids that can appear in a peptide or protein, and the order and quantity in which they appear in the "chain" dictates the type and function of that particular peptide or protein.

Polypeptides and oligopeptides are distinct chains of amino acids that attach to cells of the immune system and activate the immune system cell to perform as needed. An oligopeptide is a small chain of 2-10 amino acids, while a polypeptide is a longer chain of 10-100 amino acids and a protein is a yet longer chain of more than 100 amino acids. As you can imagine, there are literally millions of different possible combinations and sequences in which to arrange these 20 amino acids to make oligopeptides , polypeptides or proteins. That is why, although the scientific and medical communities have learned much about peptides and proteins, many unknowns still remain.

Cytokine Circuits……The Chain Reaction for Health

In the immune system, peptides are called cytokines, and are signaling mechanisms that coordinate and regulate all important biological processes such as cell growth and cell activation. Cytokines amplify, or help some aspects of the immune system and inhibit, or suppress others as needed. They play a key role in regulating and stabilizing the immune system.

The major known cytokines are Interleukins, Interferon and TNF, each with very unique and targeted functions in the immune response process. Each immune system cell type (B-cells, T-cells, Macrophages, etc.) releases different cytokines that activate other cell types, which then release other cytokines. All of this activity occurs through "cytokine circuits", with released cytokines activating different cell types in a chain reaction, depending on the type and extent of immune system response that is required.

The table and diagram below outline key cytokines in the immune system, where they originate from and what impact they have.

Example of "Cytokine Circuits" Involved in Immunity