Adaptive Immunity Flashcards
How does a naive t cell recognise a pathogen?
Antigens must be presented by Antigen Presenting Cells
What is a naive t cell?
T cell that has not previously encountered the antigen
What do antigen presenting cells do? (4)
1) Sense the pathogen,
2) Capture pathogen (phagocytosis o macropinocytosis)
3) Processing (digestion down to antigen fragments - very small pieces)
4) Presentation of pathogen’s peptides to T cells (using an MHC).
Types of APC (4)
Dendritic
Langerhan (same as dendritic but in the skin, they are called langerhan cells)
Macrophage
B cells
Dendritic cell presenting mechanism:
1) What do they present to?
2) What is the result?
Presents to: Naive T cells
Result: T cells response against most pathogens
Langerhan cell presenting mechanism:
1) What do they present to?
2) What is the result?
Presents to: Naive T cell
Result: T cells response against most pathogens
Macrophage presenting mechanism:
1) What do they present to?
2) What is the result?
Present to: Effector cells (already encountered antigen)
Effect: Phagocytic activities
B cells presenting mechanism
Presents to: Effector T cells
Result: Antibody production (humoral response)
3 Features of APC
Strategically located
Diversity in capture mechanism
Diversity in pathogen sensors (PRRs)
Describe the Strategic location of APC (5)
Mucosal membranes (gut, lung called dendritic cells here) Skin (called langerhan cells here) Blood (called plasmacytoid cells here) Lymph nodes (called follicular dendritic cells here) Spleen (against blood bourne pathogens)
What are the Capture mechanism of APCs?
Phagocytosis (whole microbe invaginated)
Macropinocytosis (invagination of soluble particles)
Describe Pathogen recognition receptor (PRR) diversity in sensing
PRRs sense and looks for PAMPs (Pathogen associated molecular patterns)
These sensors are able to differentiate between extracellular microbes and intracellular microbes
extracellular microbes (bacteria, fungi, protozoa)
Intracellular (viruses)
What PRR senses neisseria meningitidis?
TLR4 (gram negative, extracellular)
(TLR4 is also relevant to sepsis)
Where do the APC travel to once presenting and why?
Migrate via the lymphatics to the lymphoid tissues:
- MALT (mucosal associated lymphoid tissue)
- Lymph nodes
- Spleen
Because all the best effector cells for the adaptive immunity (specifically naive B cells and naive T cells) are here, condensed in a very small environment to maximise interaction.
Adaptive immune response to extracellular microbes (bacteria) (3)
- APC present peptide pathogens using MHC class 2
- Present to Naive CD4+ T cells
- Humoral immunity (antibodies)