Question

A macrophage is able to take up a whole bacterium, digest it to small pieces, attach those pieces to a self molecule (also called MHC), and then put this combination of self and small piece into the surface of a cell. This process is called __________

Answer 1

Antigen presentation is the process where macrophages digest bacteria and present their antigens on the cell surface with MHC molecules, triggering an adaptive immune response.

Step-by-step explanation:

The process by which a macrophage takes up a whole bacterium, digests it into smaller pieces, then attaches those pieces to a self molecule known as Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), and finally presents this combination on the surface of the cell, is known as antigen presentation.

The macrophage is categorized as an antigen-presenting cell (APC) in this context. It presents the processed antigen to T cells, triggering an adaptive immune response where lymphocytes, specifically helper T cells, interact with the antigen-MHC complex to mature into functional immune cells equipped to fight the infection.