Adaptive Immunity Flashcards
Define Adaptive Immunity
Protection provided by immune responses that improve due to exposure to antigens.
What cells are involved in adaptive immunity?
B and T cells
What is an antibody?
Y-shaped protein that binds antigens
What is an antigen?
Molecule that reacts specifically with either an antibody or an antigen receptor on a lymphocyte.
What does APC stand for?
Antigen-Presenting Cells
What is an APC?
Cells such as dendritic cells, B cells, and macrophages that can present exogenous antigens to T cells.
What is a B cell?
A type of lymphocyte programmed to make antibody molecules.
What does CMI stand for?
Cell-Mediated Immunity
What is Cell-Mediated Immunity (CMI)?
Immunity involving a T-cell response.
What is Clonal Selection?
Process in which lymphocyte’s antigen receptor bind to an antigen, allowing the lymphocyte to multiply.
What is a Cytotoxic T Cell?
Type of lymphocyte programmed to destroy infected or cancerous “self” cells.
What is a Dendritic Cell?
Cell type responsible for activating naive T cells.
What is an Effector Lymphocyte?
Differentiated descendant of an activated lymphocyte; its actions help eliminate antigen.
What is a Helper T Cell?
Type of lymphocyte programmed to activate B cells and macrophages and assist in other parts of the adaptive immune response.
What is Humoral Immunity?
Immunity involving B cells and an antibody response.
What are lymphocytes?
A group of white blood cells (leukocytes) involved in adaptive immunity; B cell and T cells are examples.
What does MHC molecules stand for?
Major Histocompatibility Complex Molecules.
What do Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) Molecules do?
Host cell surface proteins that present antigens to T cells.
What are Major Lymphocytes?
Long-lived descendants of activated lymphocytes that can quickly respond if a specific antigen is encountered again.
What is a Plasma Cell?
Effector form of a B cell.
What does a Plasma Cell do?
It functions as an antibody-secreting factory.
What is a Tc Cell? (Not what is does.)
Effector form of a cytotoxic T cells.
What does a Tc Cell do? (Not what it is)
It induces apoptosis in infected or cancerous “self” cells.
What is a Th Cell? (not what it does)
Effector form of a Helper T Cell.
What does a Th Cell do? (not what it is)
It activates B cells and macrophages and releases cytokines that stimulate other cells of the immune system.
What population did diphtheria target?
infants and small children
What were the symptoms of diphtheria?
The first symptom was a sore throat followed by the development of a gray membrane that could come loose and block the airway.
Who (2 people) discovered diphtheria antitoxin by injecting the antitoxin with serum and injecting into guinea pigs?
Alexandre Yersin and Emile Roux
How long does adaptive immunity take to build after exposure to a given antigen?
A week or more.
Define Immune Tolerance.
Decreased reactivity of the immune system to a specific antigen.
What is a “self” cell?
It simply means being within one of the body’s own cells. For example, viruses and some bacteria that replicate within a self cell.
Where does the “T” of T Lymphocytes and T Cells come from?
It stems from the fact that they mature in the “Thymus”.
What does “Humor” mean as in “Humoral Immunity”?
Humor means “fluids”.
Where does the “B” in B Lymphocytes and B cells come from?
Because these cells develop in the “Bone” marrow of mammals.
What do naive T cells proliferate into?
Tc Cells
What do Tc Cells “deliver”?
Death packages or apoptosis for infected “self” cells.
What do naive helper T cells proliferate into?
Th Cells
What do Th Cells “deliver”?
Cytokines to macrophages, increasing their killing power.
What do naive B cells proliferate into?
Plasma cells that produce antibodies (Humoral)
What is the functional difference between B cell receptors (BCRs) and T Cell receptors (TCRs)?
T cell receptors only bind antigens presented by another cell; B cell receptors bind only free antigents (Humoral)
How is a B cell receptor similar to an antibody?
They are both humoral. As in the both only bind free antigens as opposed to binding to infected cells.
How does Central tolerance prevent inappropriate immune responses?
This takes place as lymphocytes mature (T cells in the Thymus and B cells in the Bone marrow); it eliminates immature T and B cells found to recognize certain “self” molecules.
Hoes does Peripheral Tolerance prevent inappropriate immune responses?
This occurs after lymphocytes mature; it prevents any T and B cells not eliminated during Central tolerance from reacting against self or other harmless molecules.
What is a naive lymphocyte?
A mature lymphocyte that has not encountered antigen previously.
What cells are responsible for the effectiveness of the secondary immune response?
Memory Lymphocytes
What is the difference between the primary and secondary immune responses?
The primary immune response is the first response to a particular antigen, developing the first immunity; the secondary immune response occurs after the same antigen is encountered again, resulting in a much faster and more effective reaction thanks to memory Lymphocytes.
What cells of the adaptive immune system can best be likened to “emergency lights”? And why?
Dendritic cells. They produce co-stimulatory molecules if the antigen is microbial or otherwise dangerous. It travels to regions where naive T cells gather to “warn” them in this way.
What cell only specifically targets infected self cells to cause apoptosis?
Tc Cells
Which type of adaptive immunity cells are specifically involved in Humoral Immunity?
B cells
How are naive B cells activated?
If Th Cells (Effector helper T cells) binds to an antigen and delivers it to naive B cells thereby activating it. If naive B cells encounter an antigen that binds to B-Cell receptors (BCR), the B cell takes up that antigen, degrades it, and presents the pieces to Th Cells.
Where do Y-shaped antibodies come from?
They are secreted proteins of the effector (or activated) B cell receptors (BCRs) called plasma cells.
How do antibodies protect against the effects of antigens?
- They target it for elimination
- They coat an antigen so that it can no longer bind to host cells
What’s a Fab region?
The top Y-shaped portion of an antibody that attaches to antigens.
What is an Fc region?
The bottom stem portion of the Y-shaped antibody that tags the antigen for rapid elimination.