19 - Mucosal Immunity Flashcards
Examples of mucosal tissues of immune system
- Respiratory tract
- Gastrointestinal tract
- Urogenital tract
Effector cells activated in mucosal tissue
Drain via lymphatics into circulation, and home back to musoca
NALT
- Nasopharyngeal associated lymphoid tissue
- Equivalent to Waldeyer’s Ring
GALT
Gut associated lymphoid tissues
MALT
Mucosal associated lymphoid tissue
Anatomical features of MALT
- Interactions between mucosal epithelia and lymphoid tissues
- Discrete compartments of diffuse lymphoid tissue and more organised structures (e.g. tonsils)
- Specialised antigen uptake mechanisms
Effector mechanisms of MALT
- Activated/memory T cells predominate
- Multiple activated ‘natural’ effector/regulatory T cells present
- Secretory IgA antibodies
- Presence of distinctive microbiota
Immunoregulatory environment of MALT
- Active down regulation of immune responses
- inhibitory macrophages and tolerance inducing dendritic cells
Weldeyer’s ring
- Consists of Lingual, palatine, tubal, and pharyngeal tonsils
- Organs of immune tolerance
- Generation and maintenance of allergen-specific FOXP3 + Treg cells is controlled by pDCs in the palatine and lingual tonsils
Tonsil crypts
Numerous narrow and deep invaginations of the surface squamous epithelium which grow into tonsillar follicular tissue
Lingual and palatine tonsils
Separated from the microbe-rich oral cavity by multiple layers of squamous epithelial cells, rather than the single columnar epithelial cell layer that separates the intestinal lumen from other GALT.
Immunity in respiratory tract
- The mucosa of the respiratory system lines the nasal passages, nasopharynx, trachea, and bronchial tree
- Alveolar macrophages represent most of the free cells within the alveolar spaces.
Alveolar macrophages
- Functionally distinct from other macrophages (maintain an anti inflammatory phenotype)
- Express IL-10, nitric oxide, and TGF-beta
- Poorly phagocytic compared with resident macrophages in other tissues
- Inhibit T cell responses as well as antigen presentation of airway DCs (IL-10 and TGF-beta)
Goblet cells
Produce airway mucins, the key components of the protective barrier that impedes pathogen entry into the airway epithelium
Three major ways that gut prevents infection
- Presence of thick mucus layer that keeps most organisms in the lumen away from the intestinal epithelium
- Antibiotic peptides produced by
intestinal epithelial cells kill pathogens in the lumen or reduce their entry into the epithelium - IgA transported into lumen and neutralises pathogens before they can enter through epithelium