Adaptive Immune System Flashcards
What are the two types of adaptive immunity?
Antibody mediated or cell mediated
Descrive adaptive immunity’s memory
Its a faster, bigger response - especially if the organism is encountered more than once and its specific for a given organism
What is an antigen
an antibody generator
- any molecule that reacts specifically with the Ag or Ab receptor on a lymphocyte
- does not necessarily have to initiate an immune response
What is an immunogen
An antigen that specifically induces and immune response
What do we want to do for an antigen to work as a vaccine?
We want to evoke a high level of immunogenicity
What is an epitope
its an antigenic determinant
- they’re specific regions of the antigen that are specifically recognized by the adaptive immune response
- usually a stretch of 10 or more AA
Descrive antibody mediated (or humoral) immunity
- the antibody is the main immune cell
- neutralizes free-floating particles (bacteria, toxins, viruses)
- in response to extracellular antigens, the B cells are triggered t proliferate and differentiate into plasma cells
- Y shaped proteins are then called antibodies
- some B cells here form memory cells that respond faster when exposed to the same antigen again
Where are antibodies produced
produced by B lymphocytes (B cells) in the bin marrow of humans or the bursa of birds
What are the 2 structures of an antibody?
2 arms (identical) and a stem
Arms: bind to a specific antigen
Stem: tags the antigen for destruction by other immune system components
What are the two types of antibodies?
Light chain and heavy chain
What are IgG antibodies made up of?
- made of 75% of serum immunoglobulins
- has basic monomeric structure
- 4 subclasses based on AA sequence of the C regions of H chains (IgG1-4)
IgG1 is most prevalent
What part of the antibody does the phagocyte recognize?
The heavy chain
What are the functions of IgG antibodies
- opsonization - enhances phagocytosis, acts as a flag for phagocytes with Fab is bound to the antigen and Fc is freely exposed
- neutralizes viruses and toxins
- main Ab in secondary response when body encounters Ag for 2nd time
- crosses the placenta- passive immunity for fetus from the mother
What are the structure of IgM antibodies
monomeric, when attached to the B cell surface as a receptor
- pentameric in serum, 5 monomers held together by a J chain
What are the function of the IgM antibodies?
- the first antibody produces in the primary response
- Ag recepts on B cells
- activates part of innate defences
- agglutinates particles (bacteria)- can do this because of its pentameric form
How do we know based on antibodies whether or not a person has been infected by a pathogen for the 1st time or the 2nd time?
- if only IgM is in the body, we know that the infection in recent
- if we see IgG, we know the infection has been around for a while
(secondary response gives a high concentration of IgG molecules)
What is the structure and function of IgD antibodies
Structure: monomeric form, found in serum and on B cell surface as a receptor
- less than 2% of total serum antibodies are IgD
Function: unknown!
What is the structure of IgA antibodies and where are they found?
- produced by mucous membranes secretions
- low amount of monomeric form in serum- dimeric form found in secretions
What are the functions of IgA antibodies?
- neutralized bacteria and viruses, preventing them form attaching to mucous membranes
- gives passive immunity from breast milk
What is the structure and function of IgE antibodies?
- monomeric form, low levels found in serum
- Ag receptors on mast cells (tissues) and basophils (in blood)
Function: anaphylactic hypersensitivity
How can antibodies protect against viruses?
the virus can bind to a specific receptor in the host cell and cause infection this way - but if the antibody binds to the receptor and blocks the attachment, the virus will be stopped
- antibodies can protect from toxins the same way as well (by binding to a specific receptor)
What do tetanus shots give us?
Tetanus shots give a small amount of clostridium tent toxin - so that id the body becomes infected with this bacteria, the body would be immune to the effects of the toxin but NOT immune to the effects of the bacteria
What kind of immunity does T cells bring and were do they mature?
- bring cell mediated immunity and mature in the thymus
Do T lymphocytes recognize free antigens?
No, they do not. They recognize antigens if they are presented by one of the body’s own cells
(bacterial or virally infected cells, transplant tissues, cancer)
How do T lymphocytes work?
They bind to the complex of MHC molecules and peptides
- T lymphocytes are activated from here
- T lymphocytes help macrophages kill intracellular parasites
- Th1 cells + MHCClass 2 -> Tcell release macrophage activating factors (interferon gamma)
No radicals involved
- T cells are active ONLY against foreign antigens
What are the 2 major functional populations of T cells
- cytotoxic T cells
- helper T cells
Describe cytotoxic T cells
- differentiate into Tc which destroy infected or cancerous cells -CD8
- recognize Ag presented by MHC class 1 molecules
Describe helper T cells
- differentiate into Th which activate B cells and macrophages - CD4
- Th1 activate macrophages
- Th2 activate B cells
- recognize Ag presented by MHC class 2 molecules