Further notes about the morphostasis concept – split files

(24) Tolerance of gut microbes (nurturing? cultivation?)

It is no longer a question of whether this happens. However, the perspectives paraded in discussing it are still often coloured by the assumption that the IS should normally attack bacteria/foreigners because they are the "bad guys". However (and this is my opinion), the vast majority of bacterial species are benign when in contact with, or even introduced into, an uninjured human body. The pathogenic species must injure body cells to carry out their dastardly deeds. Once an immune response has been provoked by damage caused by one of the "nasty guys", the system then lies in wait until it senses a nibble from a new attack. At the slightest provocation (the sensing of the slightest new damage) the inflammation memory system (the adaptive IS) swings into action and encourages the more primitive shells of the innate system to focus on "swatting the wee beasties" – rather like you might feel a mosquito in action on your skin and splat it quickly, willingly sacrificing a few healthy skin cells in the swatting process. It is the fresh encounter with a particular damage pattern that is recognised (that, of course, includes epitopes typical of the provoking bacterial agent) rather than identifying it as "a foreigner".