memory cell

American  

noun

Immunology.

1. any small, long-lived lymphocyte that has previously encountered a given antigen and that on reexposure to the same antigen rapidly initiates the immune response memory T cell or proliferates and produces large amounts of specific antibody memory B cell: the agent of lasting immunity.

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memory cell Cultural  

1. A cell in the immune system that, when exposed to an invading pathogen, replicates itself and remains in the lymph nodes searching for the same antigen, resulting in a more efficient and rapid response to any subsequent attack.

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Discover More

The creation of memory cells is one of the main goals of vaccination.

Example Sentences

They added, however, that after the pathogen is eliminated, effector cells can, in essence, change their minds and decide late to join the memory cell pool.

From Science Daily • Jan. 31, 2024

If the memory cell isn't tricked by the cancer, then it can fight and, crucially, remember what that cancerous cell looks like.

From Science Daily • Sep. 25, 2023

In practice, however, this currently works only with memory chips, which do not have a heat problem: they use circuits that consume power only when a memory cell is accessed, which is not that often.

From Nature • Feb. 8, 2016

A memory cell is a variety of both B and T cells that forms after exposure to a pathogen and mounts rapid responses upon subsequent exposures.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Somewhere in the recesses of his brain a memory cell broke.

From Half Portions by Ferber, Edna