3 - Immune Physiology Flashcards
What are the six types of leukocytes?
- Neutrophils (62%)
- Eosinophils
- Basophils
- Monocytes
- Lymphocytes (30%)
- Plasma Cells
Which leukocytes are granulocytes?
neutrophils
eosinophils
basophils
In progenitor cells, what are the two main lineages of WBCs?
myelocytic and lymphocytic
The myelocytic lineage begins with _____
The lymphocytic lineage begins with ______
Myeloblasts
Lymphoblasts
Which white blood cells are formed in the marrow?
Granulocytes and monocytes
Which leukocytes are not formed in bone marrow?
Lymphocytes and plasma cells
What happens to granulocytes and monocytes once they leave the bone marrow?
Circulate for a few hours, then move into tissues
when monocytes move into tissues they swell into tissue macrophages
How do WBCs enter tissue spaces?
How do they travel through tissue spaces?
Diapedesis
Amoeboid movement
What is chemotaxis?
The migration of a cell toward or away from a chemical gradient
When a tissue becomes inflamed, a dozen different products are formed that attract neutrophils and macrophages
What is a chemotactic substance?
A chemical beacon
In this case, something that attracts WBCs
Why is it noteworthy that chemotaxis is effective up to 100micrometers away?
Because most tissues are only 50 micrometers away from a capillary
makes it very easy for tissues to recruit macrophages etc from the capillaries into the inflamed area
The major function of neutrophils and macrophages is:
phagocytosis
How do antibodies and phagocytes cooperate to kill certain cells?
the immune system develops antibodies
those antibodies adhere to the infectious agent’s membrane, making it especially susceptible to phagocytosis
The process in which a pathogen is selected for phagocytosis and then destroyed is called:
opsonization
Describe a neutrophil’s phagocytic process
Neutrophil attaches itself to the particle
projects pseudopodia in all direction around the particle
pseudopodia meet up on the other side of the particle and fuse, creating a closed chamber
chamber invaginates and forms a phagocytic vesicle
Phagosome joins up with a lysosome and eats the particle
debris expelled via exocytosis
Macrophages are the end stage product of ______
monocytes that enter the tissues
Which is a more effective phagocyte: neutrophils or macrophages?
Macrophages! Can eat up to 100 bacteria, vs neutrophils’ 3-20
They can eat much larger particles, like RBCs and whole parasites
Macrophages survive much longer than neutrophils
What’s the difference between the reticuloendothelial system and the monocyte-macrophage system?
Same thing
In the lungs, macrophages phagocytize particles that become entrapped in the alveoli. What do they do with the digestive products?
Dump them into the lymphatic system
How are debris and old RBCs filtered in the spleen?
arterial blood to the spleen squeezes through trabeculae in the red pulp lined with macrophages
They phagocytize debris and old cells, then return the blood via splenic veins
What are the five basic characteristics of inflammation?
- vasodilation
- vascular permeability
- clotting of the interstitial fluid d/t large amounts of fibrinogen and proteins leaking from the capillaries
- migration of granulocytes and monocytes to the tissue
- swelling of the tissue cells
Why is it significant that the interstitial space and lymphatics are filled with fibrinogen clots during inflammation?
This is the walling off effect
prevents bacteria or toxin from spreading
Explain why staphylococcus is more likely than streptococcus to be isolated to a specific tissue, even though staph is much more destructive
staph releases extremely lethal cellular toxins that spark an inflammatory walling off that outpaces the ability of staph to multiply and spread
strep produces fewer toxins, and is able to reproduce and spread before inflammation walls it off
When a pathogen enters a tissue, what is the first line of defense?
What is the second?
The tissue macrophages
Neutrophil invasion
How do tissue signal for neutrophils to come to their aid?
- increased expression of adhesion molecules on the capillary endothelium literally sticks to circulating neutrophils and moves them into the tissue
- endothelial cell junctions loosen to allow diapedesis/extravasation
- chemotaxis
How is neutrophilia in response to a pathogen achieved?
Inflammatory mediators travel to the bone marrow, acting on stored neutrophils and mobilizing them into the circulation
When a pathogen enters a tissue, what is the third line of defense?
Monocytes
Enter from the blood to the infected tissue and swell into macrophages
This is a much slower response than that of neutrophils, but is much more effective and long lasting
When a pathogen enters a tissue, what is the fourth line of defense?
The production of more granulocytes and monocytes by the bone marrow
Takes 3-4 days
What is pus?
necrotic tissue, dead neutrophils, dead macrophages, and tissue fluid
How do eosinophils compare to neutrophils?
They are very weak phagocytes but are not significant in protection against the usual types of infection
Eosinophils react to two types of inflammation/disease:
- Parasites!
- Allergic reactions
What is the most likely reason eosinophils are involved in allergic reactions?
Basophils and mast cells are the primary participants in reactions, and both of them release eosinophil chemotactic factor
What is the role of eosinophils in allergic reactions?
They help “buffer” some of the substances released by mast cells and basophils, controlling the amount of inflammatory mediators released
Why are eosinophils well designed for parasitic attack?
their granules release hydrolytic, highly reactive oxygen species, and a highly larvicidal polypeptide called major basic protein
Name two common parasitic infections that cause eosinophilia
schistosomiasis
trichinosis
Both mast cells and basophils liberate ____ into the blood
heparin
histamine
bradykinin
serotonin
Why are mast cells and basophils so heavily involved in allergic reactions?
because IgE has a special propensity for mast cells and basophils
There are two general kinds of leukemia:
lymphocytic and myelogenous
In myelogenous leukemia, the acuity of cancer is dependent on:
the level of differentiation in the abnormal WBCs
The less differentiation, the worse the acuity
Why does leukemia cause bleeding, low platelets, and anemia?
displacement of normal bone marrow and lymphoid cells with nonfunctional leukemic cells
What is humoral immunity?
B cell Immunity
the body develops circulating immunoglobulins, produced by B Cells
What is cell-mediated immunity?
T cell immunity
formation of large numbers of activated T lymphocytes, specifically crafted in lymph nodes to destroy a foreign agent
Both cell mediated and humoral immunity are initiated by ______
presentation of antigens
What is antigen short for?
Antibody Generators
For a substance to be antigenic, it must be capable of _____
generating antibodies
Usually has to be a relatively large molecule