Chapter 21: The Immune System Flashcards
Immunity
- > Body’s defense against invaders
- > Resistance to disease
- > Immune system has 2 intrinsic systems:
- Innate (nonspecific) defense system- you are born with it
*Adaptive (specific) defense system: active.
Innate defenses
1st line of defense: surface barriers (skin, mucous membranes)
2nd line of defense: Internal defenses (phagocytes, Natural Killer cells , inflammation, antimicrobial proteins, fevers)
Adaptive defenses
3rd line of defense:
- Humoral immunity (B cells)
- Cellular immunity (T cells-involved with cellular immunity)
***Must go through first and second lines of defenses and if it makes it past them then it reaches the 3rd line of defense
Innate Defenses
- Surface barriers (1st line of defense):
- skin (keratin)-physical barrier to most microorganisms
- Mucosae provide similar mechanical barriers
- hair
- > Protective chemicals inhibit or destroy microorganisms:
- skin acidity
- lipids in sebum and dermcidin in sweat-toxic
- stomach acids
- lysozyme of saliva and lacrimal fluid
- mucus- traps microorganisms
Internal defenses (2nd line of defense): cells and chemicals
- Necessary if microorganisms invade deeper tissues
1. phagocytes
2. Natural Killer cells (NK) cells
3. Inflammatory response(macrophages, mast cells, WBCs, and inflammtory chemicals)
4. Antimicrobial proteins (interferons and complement proteins)
5. Fever
- Phagocytes: Neutrophils and macrophages (and eosinophil)
- Neutrophils: most common
- Macrophages develop from monocytes to become the chief phagocytic cells
- Phagocyte mobilization:
1. Leukocytosis: Neutrophils enter blood from bone marrow.
2. Margination: Neutrophils cling to capillary wall
3. Diapedesis: neutrophils flatten and squeeze out of capillaries
4. chemotaxis: neutrophils follow chemical trail
Mechanism of phagocytosis
Step 1: Adherence of phagocyte to pathogen
-> facilitated by opsonization (“to make tasty” or yummy or taste good–dog story)-coating of pathogen by complement proteins or antibodies
- > Destruction of pathogens:
- acidification and digestion by lysosomal enzymes
- respiratory burst: release of cell-killing free radicals
- Natural Killer (NK) cells
- > Large granular lymphocytes
- > target cells that lack “self” cell-surface receptors, looks for abnormal cells
- > induce apoptosis (suicide) in cancer cells and virus- infected cells before immune system is activated
- > secrete potent chemicals that enhance the inflammatory response
Inflammatory response
- > Triggered whenever body tissues are injured or infected
- > prevents the spread of damaging agents
- > cardinal signs of acute inflammation:
1. redness
2. heat
3. swelling
4. pain
(5. and sometimes impairment of function)
Benefits of inflammation:
dilutes harmful substances, brings in useful substances, disposes of debris, pain immobilizes, prevents spread of damaging agents
- Antimicrobial proteins
Interferons (IFNs) and complement proteins
- > attack microorganisms directly
- > hinder microorganisms ability to reproduce
Interferons- “interfere”
* Viral-infected cells are activated to secrete IFNs
- IFNs enter neighboring cells
- Neighboring cells produce antiviral proteins that block viral reproduction
- Activate macrophages & mobilize NK cells
Interferons
interfere
- Viral-infected cells are activated to secrete IFNs
- IFNs enter neighboring cells
- Neighboring cells produce antiviral proteins that block viral reproduction
- Activate macrophages & mobilize NK cells
picture on slide 16
Complement activation
Activated complement:
-> 1. Enhances inflammation
-> 2. Promotes phagocytosis through opsonization
- >
- Causes cell lysis:
- formation of a membrane attack complex (MAC)
- MAC causes cell lysis by inducing a massive influx of water
“Complement” enhances the effectiveness of both the innate and adaptive defenses. complement system is major mechanism for destroying foreign substances
- Fever
- > Systemic response to invading microorganisms
- > leukocytes and macrophages secrete pyrogens (heat)
- > pyrogens reset the bodys thermostat upward (hypothalamus)
- > high fevers are dangerous because heat denatures enzymes
->benefits of moderate fever
(increases metabolic rate, which speeds up repair)
Adaptive defenses
- The adaptive immune (specific defense) system- immunity to one disease dosent protect you against a different disease
- > protects against infectious agents and abnormal body cells
- > amplifies the inflamatory response
- > activates complement
Adaptive defenses
adaptive immune response:
- is specific
- is systemic
- has memory
- 2 separate overlapping arms:
1. Humoral (antibody-mediated) immunity (“humors” are fluids)- B cells
- Cellular (cell-mediated) immunity- T cells
Antigens- “antibody generator”
- > antigens are the targets of immune response
- >most are large, complex molecules not normally found in the body (nonself, foreign)
Complete Antigens (large molecules)
- > immunogenicity: can stimulate specific lymphocytes to multiply
- > reactivity: ability to react with these lymphocytes and antibodies
Incomplete antigens- Haptens (small molecules)
- > are not immunogenic
- > combine with bodys own proteins and casue an attack that is harmful not protective (animal hair, detergents, peanut butter)
antigenic determinants
- > certain parts of an entire antigen that are immunogenic
- > antibodies and lymphocyte receptors bind to them
- > large, chemically simple molecules (e.g plastics) have little or no immunogenicity
Self-antigens: MHC proteins
- > Protein molecules (self-antigens) on the surface of all your cells. self antigens are not foreign to you
- > antigenic to others in transfusions or grafts
- > MHC (major histocompatibility complex) proteins
- presence of this protein allows immune system to differentiate btwn our cells and foreigners
**MHC are cells’ identity markers
Cells of the adaptive immune system
2 types of lymphocytes:
-> B lymphocytes (B cells)- humoral immunity
->T lymphocytes (T cells)- cell mediated immunity
Antigen-presenting cells (APCs):
- > do not respond to specific antigens
- > play essential auxiliary roles in immunity
- > Dendritic cells, macrophages and B lymphocytes
Antigen-presenting cells (APCs)
- > engulf antigens
- > present fragments of antigens to be recognized by T cells- like signal flags on their surface
Major types:
-> dendritic cells capture antigens and enters lymph system to node, most important APC
- > Macrophages present antigens to T cells which activates them into voracious phagocytes
- > B cells- presents antigens to T cell which assist in own activation
Humoral immunity response
Antigen challenge:
- > first encounter between an antigen and a naive immunocompetent lymphocyte
- > usually occurs in the spleen or a lymph node
If the lymphocyte is a B cell:
-> the antigen provokes a humoral immune response
->antibodies are produced