Which one of the following statements best describes the role of B cells and T cells in the human body?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) They protect the body from the diseases caused by pathogens.
B cells and T cells are the two lymphocytes that run the body's specific immune response, so they protect us from diseases caused by pathogens (disease-causing microbes). B cells make antibodies; T cells help B cells make them.
- ✓ (d) NCERT: immune responses are carried out by B-lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes. B cells produce antibodies against pathogens, and T cells help B cells produce them.
- ✗ (a) An allergy is an exaggerated immune response to harmless substances in the environment such as pollen or mites. That reaction is the problem, not the protection.
- ✗ (c) Immunosuppressants are drugs that damp down the immune system. B and T cells are what carry out the immune response.
Remember · B cells make antibodies against pathogens; T cells help B cells do so. Together they carry out the body's immune response, with memory of the first encounter.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Biology, Ch 7 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Biology, Ch 7 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Biology, Ch 7 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · Biology, Chapter 7 “The primary and secondary immune responses are carried out with the help of two special types of lymphocytes present in our blood, i.e., B-lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Biology, Chapter 7 “The B-lymphocytes produce an army of proteins in response to pathogens into our blood to fight with them.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Biology, Chapter 7 “The exaggerated response of the immune system to certain antigens present in the environment is called allergy.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·