Many years ago, someone explained it to me this way, and I find that just about any parent can understand it.

Proteins are made up of amino acids, and there are approximately the same number of amino acids as there are letters in the English alphabet.  Twenty six letters in the alphabet; 21 amino acids.  When we digest proteins, we break them down into amino acids, but not completely.  There are still strings of amino acids that remain together.  Now think of strings of letters you see together everyday.  If you see someone's name, and you see the letters CZYK, what do you supposed the derivation is for that?  Does it look like English or maybe an eastern European language?  Probably eastern European (or the Chicago telephone book).  If you see BEAU, what do you think of?  English or maybe French?  Probably French.

Our immune system is doing the same thing.  It is looking for "self" and that would look to me as an English speaker like strings of letters we see in English.  When it spots a string of amino acids that don't look like "self," then it must be "foreign," and the immune system responds accordingly.

I find this to be an explanation that most people can grasp.

P. D. Gordon RN, BS, BSN, IBCLC
DE Division of Public Health


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