Public health officials agree that, since the 1960s, asthma has been increasing among children in developed countries such as the United States. Among the tentative explanations for this increase is the “hygiene hypothesis,” which holds that the problem is that many children are growing up in environments that are “pristine”—very clean and devoid of household pets. What could the linkage be between an immune system condition such as asthma and growing up in a pristine environment?
Associate each immune system component on the left with it on the right.
a. mast cells | proteins that seal off infection site |
b. cytokines | cells capable of ingesting invading cells |
c. toll-like receptors | cells that release histamine |
d. phagocytes | communication proteins |
e. fibrin proteins | first sensors of infection |