In Addison's disease, the immune system attacks cells of the adrenal organs - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 12 - 2006 - Paper 1
Question 12
In Addison's disease, the immune system attacks cells of the adrenal organs. These cells are progressively destroyed.
This form of disease could be due to
A. T cell... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:In Addison's disease, the immune system attacks cells of the adrenal organs - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 12 - 2006 - Paper 1
Step 1
A. T cells recognising adrenal cells as antibodies.
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Answer
This suggestion implies that T cells are producing antibodies against adrenal cells. However, this does not directly explain why the immune system is destroying the adrenal cells.
Step 2
B. the failure of blood complement proteins to be activated.
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While complement proteins play a role in immune responses, their failure to activate would not directly lead to the immune system targeting the adrenal cells specifically.
Step 3
C. the failure of the immune system to recognise adrenal hormones as self.
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This could contribute to an autoimmune response; however, it does not directly relate to the destruction of adrenal cells.
Step 4
D. the immune system failing to recognise cells of the adrenal organs as self.
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This is the most accurate answer. In Addison's disease, the immune system mistakenly identifies the adrenal cells as foreign, leading to their destruction.
