Cytokine

Cytokines are like special little messenger molecules in our body that help our immune system do its job. They are tiny proteins that tell our immune cells what to do and when to do it.

Imagine you are playing a game with your friends and you need to give them instructions on what to do. You might say things like “let’s all run to the tree” or “go hide behind the wall”. Cytokines are kind of like these instructions - they tell immune cells what action to take to fight off any germs or bad guys in our body.

When there’s a problem in our body, like an infection or damage to our tissues, our immune cells release cytokines to bring in reinforcements and start a response. Cytokines basically signal to other immune cells to get to work and do what needs to be done - like attacking bacteria or viruses in our body.

So just like how you might tell your friends to work together to win the game, cytokines help our immune cells work together to fight off any threats to our health.