The primitive aspect of higher vertebrate immune regulation was discovered in 1981 by researchers at the Nobel awarding Karolinska Institute in Sweden, seeking the ubiquitous [as it was thought] 'adaptive immune' system, in insects [silk moth larvae]. It was not found. Insects have not evolved and developed a memory type immune system, but instead rely on the production of a range of Anti Microbial Peptides [AMPs] that are induced in response to pathogen recognition.

They are active against fungi, virus, ie. flu, bacteria, ie. MRSA and parasites, such as malaria.

AMPs are not pathogen specific. Subsequent research in humans and other higher animals established the active presence of this phylogenetically conserved immune system. In insects the production of AMPS is upregulated significantly within hours of microbial challenge.

The innate immune response is the first line defense against pathogenic challenge. The significance of AMPs in immune surveillance for non-self/tumour cells is being increasingly recognised.

AMPs target the bacterial membrane in a carpeting mechanism with pore formation and subsequent efflux of bacterial content; they also interfere with the cellular/DNA replication processes.

Antimicrobial peptides represent a new class of natural antibiotics.

For many years it had been thought that the production of specific antibodies was the primary immune response. The production of antibodies, however, may take many days to be sufficiently upregulated to combat the rapidly reproducing bacterial or viral challenge, by which time, the survival battle may already have been lost.

The production of a memory immune system requires a linkage between naive memory cells and antigens on the pathogen. AMPs are chemotactic to naive memory cells and would function as a preferred candidate for pathogen inactivation linked to adaptive memory cell recruitment and priming.

Auto Immune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and diabetes are inflammatory diseases, in which the individual is subject to its own immune system being turned on itself.

IMBT proposes that this is due, for some reason, to a compromised innate immune response subsequent to a viral /bacterial challenge, whilst the signals that activate the adaptive response are received and acted upon, such as the production of Tumour Necrosing Factor alpha [TNFα].

This leads to an un co-ordinated, non-focused immune response in which host cells are targeted and destroyed. This may be remedied by addressing the deficiency in the innate immune surveillance/ activation system by supplementing with exogenous dietary AMPs.

These will target and attack the pathogen, synchronise the adaptive/innate targeting response against the pathogen whilst also acting to suppress inflammatory TNF alpha production and prevent self harm. An auto-immune response that is virally/bacterially induced can result in an attack upon the beta cells of the islets of langerhans disrupting insulin production causing diabetes.

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