Biological agents as causes of disease Flashcards
What are the three types of pathogens
obligate pathogens, facultative pathogens, oppurtunistic pathogens
describe obligate pathogens
ONLY survive in host
Describe facultative pathogens
present in the environment - wait for host
Example of facultative pathogens
Salmonella and E.coli
Describe opportunistic pathogens
normally benign but cause disease in compromised host
example of opportunistic pathogens
Legionella
what diseases do bacteria cause
cholera, typhoid & food poisoning
what diseases do eukaryotes cause
malaria and thrush
what diseases do viruses cause
AIDS, small pox and thrush
Where do virulence genes normally cluster
pathogenicity islands
What can carry virulence genes
bacteriophages
TRUE or FALSE - virulence genes can horizontally transfer from bacteriophages
TRUE
Where are virulence genes located in shigella
virulence plasmids
Where are virulence genes located in salmonella
pathogenicity islands
Describe the life cycle of fungi
complex - show dimorphism
How do fungi exhibit dimorphism
grows as mould at low temps, yeast when in lungs
Why is it hard to treat fungal infections
eukaryotic nature and dimorphism
What happens to fungal yeast when its ingested into the lungs
engulfed by macrophages
Example of disease caused by protozoa
malaria
Describe malaria
insects used as vector, switches between human & mosquito host
What are the protective barriers of human body
flora, mucous and epithelia
What are flora
dense epithelia with bacterial & fungal flora
Where is mucous secreted
small intestine and bladder
How do epithelia work as a barrier
tightly packed to prevent entry
What are bacterial effectors
proteins secreted by pathogenic bacteria into host
Where are virulence effector proteins encoded
pathogenicity islands of gram negative bacteria
Example of bacteria with virulence effector proteins
Salmonella
How do virulence effector proteins enter the host
injected into target host cells like intestinal epithelial cells
What do virulence effector proteins do to the host cell
manipulate cellular signalling pathways to establish infections
Name two bacterial features
P Pilli, Adhesins
What is the function of adhesins
allows anchorage to epithelia
Describe the type III secretion system
needle like device that injects virulence effector proteins
What does the type III secretion system create
actin pedestal
What does the type III secretion system allow to enter the cell
toxins and virulence effector proteins
How do effector molecules regulate biological activity
bind to proteins to increase or decrease enzyme activity, gene expression or signalling
What molecule do virulence effector proteins act like
ligands
What does actin polymerisation enable
tight adherence which destroys microvilli