1 - Intro to Immunology - Partridge

Question 1

Give examples of external threats the immune system deals with.

Answer 1

bacteria, virus, fungi, parasites

Question 2

Give examples of internal threats the immune system deals with.

Answer 2

cancerous/tumour cells (altered self cells), danger from damaged tissue; necrosis from trauma, ischaemia

Question 3

What is ischaemia?

Answer 3

Lack of blood flow to certain tissues therefore causing damage

Question 4

Give 3 examples of when the immune system is inappropriately activated

Answer 4

asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, allergies

all autoimmune diseases

Question 5

Give the 3 characteristics of the INNATE & ADAPTIVE immune systems

Answer 5

INNATE;
quick response (hrs)
limited specificity
resistance not improved upon reinfection

ADAPTIVE;
slow response (days-weeks)
highly specific
resistance improved upon reinfection

Question 6

Name the leucocytes involved in both the INNATE & ADAPTIVE systems

Answer 6

INNATE;
phagocytes, natural killer cells

ADAPTIVE;
B/T lymphocytes

Question 7

Name the soluble factors involved in both the INNATE & ADAPTIVE systems

Answer 7

INNATE;
interferons, complement, defensins

ADAPTIVE;
antibodies

Question 8

From which cell are all the cells in the immune response derived from and name the 2 cell lineages from this.

Answer 8

pluripotent stem cells giving rise to myeloid/lymphoid progenitor

Question 9

What are professional phagocytes?

Give some examples

Answer 9

Have the sole job of taking up pathogens. Unlike other cells (eg epithelial cells, fibroblasts) that have other functions but can still uptake foreign material.
Eg neutrophils, mononuclear phagocytes

Question 10

Describe neutrophils

Answer 10

main phagocyte in blood, normally short-lived (upon infection when they live for longer) and fast-moving, can release contents of lysosomes eg H2O2

Question 11

Describe the 2 types of mononuclear phagocyte and briefly describe them overall

Answer 11

MONOCYTES - exist in tissues
when migrate to tissues known as MACROPHAGES

Can help to initiate adaptive responses and are long-lived

Question 12

In the brain, what are the mononuclear phagocytes know as?

Answer 12

microglial cells

Question 13

NK cell receptors recognise _____ self cells and therefore may play a role in ____ recognition. They kill infected cells ____-_______

Answer 13

altered
tumour
non-specifically

Question 14

What infections are NK cells effective against?

Answer 14

intracellular bacteria/viral

Question 15

What are the names of the receptors on phagocytes and other myeloid cells and what do they recognise?

Answer 15

PRRs (pattern recognition receptors) recognising PAMPs (pathogen associated molecular patterns)

Question 16

What are PAMPs?

Answer 16

molecules not naturally occurring in human body and are associated w/ pathogens eg LPS

Question 17

What is the inflammatory response?

Answer 17

integrated local response to infection

Question 18

Briefly describe these 3 soluble factors

• defensins
• interferons
• complement

Answer 18

DEFENSINS;
can insert into bacterial membranes and kill
INTERFERONS;
secreted by virally infected cells and are proteins that interfere with viral replication
COMPLEMENT;
opsonise pathogen for phagocytosis, inducer of inflammation, directly kill pathogen

Question 19

In ADAPTIVE immunity, where do the B/T cells mature?

Answer 19

B - bone marrow
T - thymus
Both in central (primary) lymphoid tissue, independent of antigens

Question 20

Where do B/T cells gain their receptors and what are their receptors called?

Answer 20

both in the peripheral (2ndry) lymphoid tissue. dependent on antigens.
B - antibody
T - T cell receptor

Question 21

What are the responses of T/B cells?

Answer 21

T - make cytokines and kill infected host cells

B - produce Abs

Question 22

What types of infections are T/B cells effective against?

Answer 22

T - intracelular bacteria, viral, intracellular parasitic

B - extracellular, 2ndry viral

Question 23

Describe the 2 major sub populations of T cells

Answer 23

CD4+ve/Helper T cells

CD8+ve/Cytotoxic T cells

Question 24

What are cytokines?

Answer 24

small secreted proteins that allow communication between cells of the immune response. produced and act locally by binding by specific cytokine receptors on target cells

Question 25

What are the 3 main groups of cytokines?

Answer 25

Interleukins, chemokines, interferons