adaptive immunity Flashcards
what is adaptive immunity?
specific and acquired
what are the two types of responses within adaptive immunity?
- cell-mediated responses
- antibody (humoral responses)
what drives cell-mediated immunity?
T cells
what does cell-mediated immunity involve?
the activation of macrophages, natural killer cells and antigen-specific helper and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes
what do B cells produce and what is their function?
antibodies and drive humoral immunity
what is immunological memory?
each pathogen is remembered by a signature T cell and or B cell
when does adaptive immunity kick in?
4-7 days
why do you feel unwell for several days following infection with a microbe?
your body doesn’t recognise – e.g., until the adaptive immune response produces antibodies and T cells to mediate pathogen clearance.
why is the threshold level of antigen important?
the immune system does not need to mediate adaptive immunity if only a small amount of antigen present – e.g., innate immunity can clear the threat without help of adaptive immunity
what are the three main receptors of adaptive immunity?
- T cell receptors
- B cell receptors (immunoglobulins)
- major histocompatibility complex
what is the difference between innate and adaptive receptors?
Innate receptors (e.g., TLRs) don’t have potential to rearrange and change shape to recognize different antigens
Adaptive receptors (e.g., these three) can rearrange structure depending to gene expression of each protein subunit.
where are T cells derived?
bone marrow
where do T cells mature?
thymus
what do T cells give rise to?
cellular immunity
what is thymic education?
checkpoints in place however to ensure T cells only respond to foreign pathogens and not ‘self peptides’
what does CD8 co-receptor bind to?
MHC 1
what does CD4 co-receptor bind to?
MHC 2
what does CD3 co-receptor do?
involved in activation of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells
what are the two different classes of T cell receptors?
alpha, beta chains
gamma, delta chains (around 5%)
what are alpha chains encoded by?
variable and joining
what are beta chains encoded by?
variable, joining and diversity
how are genes rearranged?
somatic recombination
what is somatic recombination driven by?
RAG (recombinase) enzymes
what are the two types of T cell selection in the thymus?
positive and negative
what do T cells interact with in the thymus?
thymic cortical epithelial cells
What occurs when there’s no recognition during positive selection?
apoptosis
what does too strong binding in negative selection of T cells result in?
recognition of self antigen- apoptosis
what % of T cell progenitors pass the checkpoints of thymic education?
less than 5%
what is required in thymic education for the T cell survival?
moderate affinity
what happens to positively and negatively selected CD4/CD8+ T cells with rearranged T cell receptors after they leave the thymus?
circulate in the blood/lymphatics
some residue in lymph nodes