Challenges in Microorganisms Flashcards
What are the types of organisms that can cause disease in humans?
Viruses
Bacteria
Fungi
Protozoa
Helminths (multicellular)
Prions (not a microorganism)
What are some examples of microorganisms that cause death in humans?
PCP (Pneumocystis pneumonia) - fungus; common in AIDS patients
Toxoplasma gondii- protozoa; that creates brain cysts
Schistosomiasis- helminth; transmitted through water
Trachoma- bacterial disease; (chlamydia) causes blindness
What are the different transmission routes microorganisms use to infect hosts
Physical contact
Inhalation
Ingestion
Vectors
What does zoonotic infection mean? What does One Health mean?
-An inter-host infection (fine in one host species not in the other)
- One health= animals and humans health is linked/opportunity for infections to spread animals <=> humans
eg. Ebola, SARS,
Give some examples of diseases that threaten global health.
Give some ways to control them
Ebola (bat origin) – public health and vaccine
Zika (primate origin) – generation herd immunity
COVID-19 (bat origin) – public health and vaccine
How do host-microbe relationships help develop treatment for disease/ inflammatory conditions?
- Can alter microorganisms for vaccination (live attenuated, killed, subunit, viral vector)
- Use helminths to treat asthma and chrons
What are the main physical barriers?
- Skin
- Mucosal
- Tears
- Sweat
- Ear wax
What are chemical barriers?
Skin– fatty acids, b defensins
Lungs– pulmonary surfacant, a defensins
Gut– low pH, pepsin, a defensins
Ears/nose/oral– Lysozyme in saliva and tears, b defensins
How do pathogens break the barrier?
- Skin breaks, wounds/ burns (ie staph)
- Animal bites (ie rabies)
- Insect bites (ie malaria)
- Parasites burrow through skin (ie hookworms)
What cells are apart of the adaptive immune system?
B cells
T cells (including CD4 & CD8, Th, Tregg, CTL)
Antibodies
What cells are a part of the innate immune system?
- Mast cell
- DC
- Macrophage
- NK
- Granulocytes (including eosinophils, neutrophils, basophils)
- complement proteins
What are the functions of the cells of the innate immune system: macrophages, neutrophils, NK, complementing proteins
- Macrophages/neutrophils: phagocytosis
- Eosinophils/ Neutrophils: fire cytotoxic granules at pathogens
- Complementing proteins: punches holes in bacteria
- NK: binds infected cells and kills them
What are the main functions of innate system?
- detecting infection
- killing pathogens
- recruiting cells to the infection site
- activating and directing cells of the adaptive immune system
What are the functions of the following cells:
- Th
- Tregg
- CTL (cytotoxic T cells)
- B cells
- Th (talker cells)
- Tregg (talk but stop immune response)
- CTL (kill infected cells)
- B cells (produce antibodies)
What do cells use to communicate during immune response?
- Cytokines
- contact dependent cell cell interactions
