B cell mediated immunity 1 Flashcards
What is the sole function of the B cell arm of the adaptive immune system?
Antibody production
What is the role of the Abs?
bind tightly to pathogens
The most efficient antibodies are those that do what 2 things?
- produced early in infection,
- bind antigen with high affinity
the onset of antibody production is delayed for about a week after onset of infection. Why?
B cells typically do not differentiate into plasma cells unless they have received T cell help
it takes time for B cells to undergo isotype switching and affinity maturation
Why is isotype switching and affinity maturation important?
they produce high affinity antibodies that direct the proper effector mechanisms for most efficient clearance of the pathogen
the effectiveness of the antibodies produced increases over the course of the response.
The high affinity Abs are retained how? why?
retained in the form of memory B cells that provide long-lived immunity to re-infection.
following secondary exposure to a pathogen, the B cell response should be what?
very efficient because high-affinity B cells of the proper isotype have already been clonally expanded and can be quickly reactivated following re-infection.
B cell activation requires what?
BCR crosslinking
this clustering/aggregation of BCRs results in signaling to the inside of the cell. How is it done?
upon binding to antigen (protein or carbohydrate), the surface IgM molecules (BCRs) become physically crosslinked to each other and are drawn into the localized area of contact with the antigen;
What is the BCR composed of?
- a single antibody molecule (the isotype that is produced by that B cell) that is associated with two protein chains: the immunoglobulin alpha and Beta chains (Ig-a and Ig-B)
the Ig-a and Ig-B chains serve as what of the B cell receptor. What is this analogous to on the T cell?
the signal transduction unit
analogous to the CD3 complex expressed by T cells
How does the signal transduction unit (Ig-a / Ig-B chains) of the BCR initiate intracellular signaling pathways?
the cytoplasmic tails of Ig-a and Ig-B have immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs (ITAMs)
- ITAMs become clustered (due to receptor crosslinking),
- tyrosine residues within these motifs become phosphorylated,
- tyrosine kinases are activated,
- intracellular signaling pathways are initiated
What is the B cell co-receptor?
a complex of at least 3 proteins
- complement receptor 2 (CR2 or CD21) which binds to complement components that are bound to the surface of a pathogen;
- CD19, which acts as the signaling chain of the co-receptor;
- CD81 (or TAPA-1) whose function is unknown (likely involved in signal transduction)
What acts as the signaling chain of the co-receptor?
CD19
What is the result when the B cell co-receptor is engaged?
- cytoplasmic tail of CD19 becomes phosphorylated, allowing it to bind to intracellular signaling molecules which generate signals that synergize with those generated by the BCR complex,
- resulting in a 1,000-10,000-fold increase in signaling
T/F signaling through the BCR in combination with signaling through the B cell co-receptor will induce activation of the naïve B cell
false, signaling through the BCR in combination with signaling through the B cell co-receptor is generally still insufficient to induce activation of the naïve B cell
How is a naive B cell activated?
signaling through BCR along with B cell co-receptor
a second signal of activation derived from helper T cells are also required
many antigens require help from what to elicit B cell responses? What type of antigens are these referred to?
an antigen-activated effector CD4+ T cell (helper T cell)
referred to as thymus-dependent antigens (TD antigens)
some antigens can activate B cells in the absence of T cell help; such antigens are referred to as what?
TI antigens
bacterial cell walls and capsules contain (or are composed of) what?
complex polysaccharides, lipopolysaccharides, and proteoglycans that are chemically and antigenically distinct from any antigens derived from mammalian cells
Why are the bacterial macromolecules (complex polysaccharides, lipopolysaccharides, and proteoglycans) major targets of Ab response?
often characterized by repetitive epitopes and serve as major targets of the antibody responses produced against extracellular bacterial pathogens
For TI antigens, what is the reason no T cell help occur?
The bacterial and capsule components cannot be processed and presented to T cells bc they are non-protein
for thymus-independent antigens, the need for T cell help can be overcome in two different ways. name them
- TI-1 antigens have an intrinsic capacity for inducing B cells to proliferate
- TI-2 antigens are typically composed of repetitive carbohydrate or protein epitopes present at high density on the surface of a microorganism
What provides the intrinsic capacity for TI-1 antigens to induce B cells to proliferate?
- TI-1 antigens bind to BCR, but also engage other receptors on the surface of B cells whose stimulation promotes proliferation and differentiation
- at high [], TI-1 antigens can activate almost any B cell, regardless of the BCR specificity (non-specific activation)
- antigens that cause such polyclonal activation of B cells are known as B cell mitogens; an example of a B cell mitogen is lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is a common component of Gram-negative bacteria
- •• the concentration of antigen required to polyclonally activate B cells is much higher than is normally encountered during a natural infection; during an infection, the B cell mitogen concentration is sufficient to activate only those B cells that have been engaged through their BCRs by their specific antigen, and therefore, only antigen-specific B cells will be activated
without the participation of cytokine signals produced by helper T cells, what Abs are produced? and what 2 functions are disabled?
primarily IgM antibodies are produced (very little class-switching)
no affinity maturation
No differentiation to memory cells
What is polyclonal activation? What antigens cause it?
- at high concentrations, TI-1 antigens can activate almost any B cell, regardless of the BCR specificity (non-specific activation)
- B cell mitogens
During polyclonal activation of B cells, how are only antigen-specific B cells activated?
the concentration of antigen required to polyclonally activate B cells is much higher than is normally encountered during a natural infection;
during an infection, the B cell mitogen concentration is sufficient to activate only those B cells that have been engaged through their BCRs by their specific antigen
How do TI-2 antigens typically carry out their function?
probably act by crosslinking BCRs and B cell co- receptors to the extent that no additional signals are needed to activate the B cell
When does a response to TI-2 antigens usually observed?
•• responses to TI-2 antigens are usually observed about 48 hours after encounter with antigen
typical TI-2 antigens are what? What is the responding B cell?
bacterial cell wall polysaccharides,
the responding B cells are B1 B cells (a minority subset of B cells);
why do infants make poor antibody responses to polysaccharide antigens?
B1 B cells usually become functional at about 5 years of age
What Abs can be induced by TI-2 antigens? Why are they important?
both IgM and IgG antibodies
these Abs are an important part of the early B cell response to some common bacterial infections
although responses to TI-2 antigens may play an important role in early containment of some bacterial infections, these responses have 3 profound limitations: name them
1) there is no significant isotype switching,
2) no affinity maturation takes place
3) no immunological memory is provided
the bulk of the pathogen-specific antibody produced during immune responses comes from what?
B cells stimulated by T-dependent antigens
activation of B cells stimulated by TD antigens occurs where? Why is this an easy place for this action?
in secondary lymphoid tissues
where B cells, specific antigen, and effector CD4+ T cells (helper T cells) all come together
while T cells enter secondary lymphoid tissues via what route and specific process? antigen enters the 2 ̊ lymphoid tissues via route?
the circulation (diapedesis thru HEV)
the lymph to the node nearest the infected tissue
What carries the antigen in the lymph? What happens when it gets there?
DCs or by itself
antigen becomes trapped in the lymph node and some of it is processed and presented by professional APCs
Where do naïve CD4+ T cells bearing a TCR specific for presented peptide antigens (bound to MHC class II) will become activated to form what?
in the T cell zones
effector T cells
B cells pass through the T cell zone and when their cognate antigen is present, they can become activated if they do what?
if they productively present peptide antigen to an effector CD4+ T cell (the helper cell supplies the 2nd signal of activation
the B cell receptor has two distinct roles in B cell activation: name them
1) binding to cognate antigen (1st signal of activation),
2) internalizing the antigen so that it can be processed and peptides presented on MHC class II molecules on the B cell surface
a B cell that receives the 2nd signal of activation from an effector CD4+ cell will form what?
a primary focus of dividing lymphoblasts within the T cell zone of the 2 ̊ lymphoid tissue
some B lymphoblasts move into the medullary cords and differentiate _____ under the influence of what molecules?
directly into plasma cells
the TH2 cytokines IL-5 and IL-6
B cells that differentiate directly into plasma cells from the influence of Th2 cytokines IL-5 and IL-6, secrete what Ig predominantly?
IgM
other lymphoblasts from the primary focus will migrate to the primary follicles as what?
conjugates with their effector helper T cells
What are centroblasts?
rapidly dividing cells that are very metabolically active which have migrated to the primary follicles as conjugates with their effector helper T cells
as the numbers of centroblasts rapidly expands, the follicle changes and becomes dominated by what?
the germinal center
What is a germinal center? When do they appear?
contains the newly formed B cells and are responsible for the characteristic swelling of lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy) draining an infection
germinal centers appear approximately one week after the start of infection
What happens to the helper T cells that migrated to the lymphoid follicle along with the B lymphoblasts?
they proliferate and are intermingled with the centrocytes
after a few days, how would you describe the vast majority of lymphocytes within the germinal center? the B cells (which are not specific for the antigen) that were present in the follicle before entry of the of the activated B cell-T cell conjugates are pushed to the outside of the germinal center
clones derived from one or a few of the founder pairs of antigen-activated B and T cells
What happens to the B cells (which are not specific for the antigen) that were present in the follicle before entry of the of the activated B cell-T cell conjugates?
pushed to the outside of the germinal center
What is the role of the helper T cell for non-protein determinants?
The helper T cell that provides the second signal of activation to a B cell that has already encountered its cognate antigenic determinant does not need recognize the same antigenic determinant as the B cell
What occurs in centrocytes during the germinal center reaction?
affinity maturation