chapter 43: the immune system Flashcards
What are pathogens?
agents that cause disease, infect a wide range of animals including humans
What is the main function of the immune system?
recognizes foreign bodies and responds with the production of immune cells and proteins
What is innate immunity?
a defense active immediately upon infections
What is adaptive immunity?
involves specific recognition
acquired immunity develops after exposure to agents such as microbes, toxins and foreign substances
What is the innate immunity in invertebrates?
- exoskeleton is made of chitin and is first barrier to pathogens
- digestive system is protected by chitin-based barrier and lysozyme
- hemocytes carry out phagocytosis
What is phagocytosis?
the ingestion and digestion of foreign substances including bacteria
What are the innate defenses in vertebrates?
- barrier defesnses
- phagocytosis
- antimicorbial peptides
- natural killer cells
- interferons
- inflammatory response
What is the mechanism of barrier defenses?
includes skin and mucous membranes of respiratory, urinary and reproductive tracts
What is the cellular innate defenses mechanism?
- phagocytic cells recognize groups of pathogens by TLRs, Toll-like receptors.
- TLRs recognize fragments of molecules characteristics of a set of pathogens
- white blood cells engulf invading pathogens, creating vacuole
What are the four main types of phagocytic cells?
- neutrophils: engulf and destroy pathogens
- macorphages: found throughout body
- dendritic cells: stimulate development of adaptive immunity
- eosinophils: release destructive enzymes
What is the function of natural killer cells?
they circulate through the body and detect abnormal cells. they then release chemicals leading to cell death, inhibiting the spread of virally infected or cancerous cells
What is the role of interferon?
provides innate defense, interfering with viruses and helping activate macrophages
What is the inflammatory response?
- is brought about molecules released upon injury or infection
- mast cells release histamine, triggering blood vessels to dilate and become permeable - macrophages release cytokines, inhancing immune response. blood flows to site helps deliver antimicrobial peptides, accumulating pus.
What is the use of a fever?
systematic inflammatory response triggered by substances released by macrophages in response to pathogens
What are the two different types of lymphocytes?
1, T cells: lymphocytes mature in thymus
2. B cells: lymphocytes mature in bone marrow