Antibiotics/autoimmune disease Flashcards
What is autoimmune disease?
When your own immune system attacks your body.
Antibodies attach to our own antigens
B or T cells specific to our own antigens are normally destroyed, this hasn’t happened.
What are some examples of autoimmune diseases?
Type 1 diabetes - cells in pancreas that make insulin are destroyed Arthritis - Attacks joints Lupus Coeliac disease Crohn's disease Multiple sclerosis - destroys nerves
What are antibiotics?
Chemicals that kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria by preventing essential processes in bacterial cells
What does penicillin do?
Inhibits cell wall production so bacteria can’t resist the turgor pressure and bursts.
What happens to bacteria in a hypertonic solution when it has a cell wall?
It becomes turgid
What happens to bacteria in a hypertonic solution when it doesn’t have a cell wall?
Osmotic lysis (cell bursts because of osmosis increasing the turgor pressure)
What part of bacteria can make it antibiotic resistant?
A plasmid (contains extra genes, some of which can be antibiotic resistant genes)
What are the 6 ways bacteria prevent antibiotics from killing it?
Antibiotic destroying enzyme Antibiotic altering enzyme Change antibiotic - inactivate it Prevent antibiotic entering the cell Change the target of the antibiotic Pump the antibiotic out of the cell
What are the 2 ways bacteria can spread antibiotic resistance?
Mutation-reproduction
Conjugation tubes
Describe how mutation can spread antibiotic resistance
Bacteria reproduces by binary fission
Mutation may occur making some antibiotic resistant
Antibiotics kills all non-antibiotic resistant strains
Resistant strains survive and they reproduce
Describe how conjugation tubes spread antibiotic resistance
Some bacteria can pass plasmids to other bacteria
If plasmids have resistance gene then both bacteria are now resistant
What are the positives of antibiotics?
Treat diseases that used to be deadly
Millions of lives have been saved
Can target features specific to prokaryotes so don’t har, own body cells
Can prescribe several different antibiotics to reduce probability of resistance developing
Infection rates of some diseases have dropped due to better hygiene in hospitals
Some antibiotics are only used for resistant strains
What are the negatives of antibiotics?
The more we use them the more resistance will develop
Farmers sometimes use them in food for animals so animals have lots of resistant bacteria
TB already kills millions, resistant strains are now being developed
Bacteria pass antibiotic resistance via conjugation tubes
Only 1 new antibiotic has been discovered since 1987
Which drugs help autoimmune disease?
Immunosuppressant drugs - decrease the immune response to the body’s own cells
Why are antibodies specific to nuclear proteins not normally made?
Nuclear proteins are normally hidden in the nucleus
