The T cell's Differentiation
According to the Order It Receives
The
war has not yet ended for the T cells. Some T cells-to-be
destroy themselves after receiving a specific signal
from other cells.
There is very limited information
on the signals that cause the cells to die a programmed
death, to continue to live, or to mature and transform
themselves. From a scientific point of view, this
remains one of the unsolved mysteries of the defence
system. Many similar cells in our body receive signals
from somewhere, and start functioning upon this signal.
How can these cells, which send signals to one another,
be aware of the need to send a signal? Mahlon B. Hoagland
brings up the same question in his book, The Roots
of Life:
How do the cells know
when to stop growing? What tells them that the organs
of which they're a part are not just the right size?…
What is the nature of the division stopping signal(s)?
We don't know the answer and we continue to search
for it. 10
Indeed, the mystery of the signaling between cells
has not been solved yet.
A stem cell would normally be expected
to divide to form two new cells bearing the same features.
However, a switch hidden in one of the cells is turned
on causing a sudden transformation in the cell. This
new cell is the T cell that will fight for the human
body. This leads us to ask the following question:
Why does a cell transform itself
into a totally different cell?
Science has not answered this question
yet. Science can answer the question of how the cell
transforms itself, but it can never explain why the
cell would want to become a fighter cell. Nor can
it explain who programmed the cell to become a cell
that defends the body when the need arises.
Only those who acknowledge the being
of God can fully comprehend the answers to these
questions.
Types of
T cells
T cells come in three groups: helper
T cells, killer T cells, and suppressor T cells. Every
T cell has a special MHC molecule enabling it to recognize
the enemy.
Helper T
cells
These cells can be regarded as
the administrators of the system. In the initial stages
of war, they decipher the properties of the foreigner
cells absorbed by the macrophages and other antigen
catcher cells. After they receive the due signal,
they stimulate killer T and B cells to fight. This
stimulation causes B cells to produce weapons called
antibodies.
Helper T cells secrete a molecule
called lymphokine to stimulate other cells. This molecule
somehow turns on a switch in other cells and starts
off the war alarm.
The ability of the helper T cell
to produce a molecule, which activates another cell,
is a very important process.
First, the production of this molecule is related
to an impending war strategy. It is obvious that the
cells cannot make up this strategy themselves, nor
can the strategy come about by sheer coincidence.
Developing a strategy would not be
enough either. The molecule in the cell, which will
switch on the production key in the other cell, should
be synthesized accurately. For this, it has to be
perfectly aware of the chemical structure of the opposite
cell.
A mistake made in the production
of this molecule alone would paralyze the defence
system entirely. This is because an army without communication
would be destroyed even before it launched its defence.
The existence of this molecule alone
suffices to prove the absurdity of the theory of evolution.
This is because the prerequisite of the system is
the existence of this molecule right from the outset.
If helper T cells failed to alert other cells with
the help of this molecule, the human body would surrender
to viruses.
Killer T
cells
The killer T cells are the most
efficient elements of the defence system. In previous
chapters, we have studied how viruses are inactivated
by proteins called antibodies. There are cases, however,
when antibodies cannot reach out to a virus which
has invaded a cell. On such occasions, killer T cells
kill the sick cell which is invaded by the virus.
A
closer examination of how killer T cells kill sick
cells would reveal a great wisdom and an artistry
in creation.
The killer T cells first have to
distinguish between normal cells and those in which
invaders hide. They deal with this problem with the
help of the innate system (MHC molecules) granted
to them. When they locate the invaded cell, they secrete
a chemical substance. This secretion sinks into the
membrane of the cell forming a hole by lining up sideways
in close formation. Following this, leaking starts
in the cell which is full of pores, and the cell dies.
Killer T cells store this chemical
weapon in granular form. This way, this chemical weapon
is always kept ready for use. Scientists were amazed
to discover the fact that the cell produces its own
weapon by itself and stores it for future use. Even
more amazing are the details in the mind-boggling
way the cell uses this chemical weapon.
When an enemy approaches the host
cell, these microgranules move to the tip of the cell
in the direction of the enemy. Afterwards, they come
in contact with the cell membrane, melt into it, and
by extending towards the outside, they release the
substance contained within them.
Natural
Killer Cells: "NK"
These lymphocytes, which are produced
in the bone marrow, are also available in the spleen,
lymph node, and the thymus. Their most important functions
are killing tumour cells and virus-carrier cells.
From time to time, invader cells
take very sinister courses. They sometimes hide so
well in body cells that neither antibodies nor T cells
recognize the enemy. Everything seems usual from the
outside. In such cases, the defence system somehow
suspects an anomaly and "NK" cells rush to that region
through the blood. Killer lymphocytes surround the
cell and start to push the cell around. At that stage,
the enemy cell is killed by a toxigenic substance
injected inside it.
How these cells identify the enemy
is yet another unanswered question about the defence
system. The receptors that should be present on their
surfaces to enable them to identify of the target
cells have not yet been discovered. Therefore, the
mechanism they employ in identifying the enemy has
not yet been clearly understood.
Despite all the technology at its
disposal, mankind has still not been able to solve
the details of the system these cells use to identify
the enemy. Perhaps future technological advances will
throw light on this system and this subject will no
longer be a mystery. This, too, would be a piece of
evidence proving the perfection of the current system,
and what an intricate plan is involved in its creation.
Blood Cells -
Thrombocytes: The coagulation
of blood is considered an ordinary event, which is
largely ignored by people. However, if the perfect
system which makes this possible had not existed,
human beings would experience significant risks and
even bleed to death from the slightest injuries. The
thrombocyte, which is one of the blood cells produced
in the bone marrow, serves this function. It also
includes a substance called serotonin that plays an
important role in allergic reactions.
- Eosinophil: These blood
cells have the ability to perform phagocytosis, i.e.
destroy (phagocytose) any foreign cells entering the
body.
- Basophil: A big, rough and
single-nucleus blood cell which is found in small
quantities in the blood, and abundantly in the dermal,
splenic and intestinal connective tissues.
- Neutrophils: With an antibacterial
quality, these blood cells protect the organism against
foreign materials. In addition, they help the defence
system with their phagocytosis capabilities.
Antigen
Presenting Cells: "APC"
The duty of these cells is to present
the antigen (enemy) to the T cells. Why a cell would
serve such a function - an important responsibility
- definitely needs further consideration. It knows
that the T cells defend the human body, identify the
enemy and present the enemy it captures to the T cells
for them to provide intelligence about it.
Why would the cell do this? According
to the theory of evolution, this cell should be concerned
only about its own well-being. However, it serves
the system, although it receives no benefit from it.
What is even more interesting is
that the APC are very well aware of the requirements
of the T cells. Based on this, the APC will break
down the enemy cell and present to the T cell only
the amino acid sequence. This means that the APC is
even aware that the T cell will extract the required
information from this sequence.
At this point, it would be useful
to recall one thing: We mentioned actions such as
"knowing", "calculating", "thinking", "serving". Unquestionably,
those actions require a certain consciousness. It
is virtually impossible for a being with no consciousness
or will to perform these actions. Yet, here we are
talking about these abilities as being inherent in
these minuscule entities: common, tiny, unconscious
cells. Therefore, who gives this consciousness, ability,
and a glorious system to these cells?
The answer to this question is very
evident. It is God Who creates the APC and the T
cell, as well as all other cells in the body, in a
harmonious way to serve in the same system.
10-
Mahlon B. Hoagland, Roots Of Life, pp. 106-107
