2C Cells and the Immune System Flashcards
Where are antigens found and what do they do?
They’re on the outside of all cells and generate an immune response
What type of biological molecule are antigens?
Proteins (glycoproteins)
What do foreign antigens do?
Stimulate an immune response
What is special about the shapes of foreign antigens?
Certain/specific shapes stimulate white blood cells
Are self antigens good or bad?
Good. Foreign antigens are bad
What are antibodies and what do they do?
Proteins made by white blood cells that attach to antigens
What are pathogens?
Disease causing organisms, they all have antigens on their surface and recognised by immune system
What can happen to abnormal body cells?
They can turn cancerous
What do cancerous cells have?
Abnormal antigens that stimulate immune response
What are viruses and how do they infect people?
Pathogenic, they invade host cells and inject their DNA so that the cell replicates the virus instead of itself
What are toxins and what are they produced by?
They are molecules poisonous to the body which some pathogens produce and release
What kind of cells perform phagocytosis?
Phagocytes, a type of white blood cell
Describe phagocytosis
- first stage of immune response
- phagocyte engulfs and digests foreign cell
What do phagocytes do during phagocytosis?
- recognise foreign antigens
- moves towards pathogen and engulfs it
- pathogen is packaged into phagocytic vesicle (phagosome)
- lysosome fuses with phagosome to form phagolysosome
- lysozymes digest pathogen and remains are excreted (may be presented on white blood cell’s surface)
What is an APC?
Antigen-presenting cell
Where do T-cells mature?
Thymus
What are T-cells?
A type of white blood cell, sometimes referred to as T-lymphocytes
What is the role of the receptor proteins on the surface of a T-cell?
They bind to complementary antigens presented by APCs which activates the T-cell
What are the different types of T-cells?
- helper T-cells: release chemical messengers to activate and stimulate phagocytes, Tc cells and B cells
- cytotoxic T-cells: kill pathogens directly
What is the name of the chemical messengers released by T helper cells?
Cytokines
What are B-cells and what are they also known as?
Type of white blood cell, aka B-lymphocytes
What are B-cells covered in?
Proteins called antibodies (every B-cell has a different shaped antibody on its surface)
What is formed when the antibody on a B-cell’s surface binds with an antigen?
An antigen-antibody complex
What is clonal selection?
When B-cells are stimulated to divide by mitosis because they have complementary antibodies to an antigen that enters the body
What happens to B-cells after they’re activated?
They divide into B plasma cells which make antibodies
Describe the structure of an antibody
- y-shaped
- protein with 2 binding sites for antigens
What are all activated plasma cells?
Clones of the B-cell progenitor (where the clones descend from)
What do plasma cells do?
They secrete antibodies into the blood which are specific to a particular antigen
Are antibodies clones?
Yes, aka monoclonal antibodies
How many binding sites do antibodies have and what does this allow?
2, this allows for agglutination (clumping pathogens together)
How does agglutination make phagocytosis more efficient?
Phagocytes can engulf multiple pathogens at once rather than one at a time
What is opsonisation?
Signalling for phagocyte due to constant regions, complementary to phagocyte binding region
What is neutralisation?
Antibodies neutralise pathogens, they’re rendered harmless
What is active immunity?
When the organism creates its own antibodies
What is natural active immunity?
When an organism creates its own antibodies after being infected with a disease
What is artificial active immunity?
When you create your own antibodies after a vaccination