Chapter 5 - Cell recognition and cell membranes Flashcards
what is an infection
an interaction between the pathogen and the defence mechanisms of the body
what is an antigen
a protein found on the cell surface of pathogens that generate an immune response
what is a pathogen
a disease causing microorganism
what is immunity
when the body is well equipped against invasion from a pathogen so it doesn’t harm the individual
what must lymphocytes do before attacking an invader
distinguish between cells that belong to the individual and cells that don’t
what are the four things that the immune system can identify
pathogens non self material toxins and abnormal body cells
why can the immune system be a problem when receiving organ donations
the antigens are recognised as non self so without immunosuppressants the immune system would try and attack it
what is a non specific response
the response is immediate and the same for all pathogens
what is a specific response
the response is slower and specific to each pathogen
two types of non specific response
physical barriers and phagocytosis
two types of specific response
cell mediated response and humeral response
how many types of lymphocyte are there
10 million
how do lymphocytes recognise cells belonging to the body
in the womb lymphocytes are constantly colliding with the body cells of the feuds.
some lymphocytes will have sites that are complementary to these cells
these will either die or be suppressed
the remixing lymphocytes are those that are complementary to non self material that the fetus hasn’t yet been exposed to
in adults the same process happens in bone marrow producing only lymphocytes that will be able to fight an infection
what are the two types of white blood cell
phagocyte and lymphocyte
process of phagocytosis
a phagocyte recognises foreign antigens on the pathogen
receptors on the phagocyte bind to the pathogen
they engulf the pathogen forming a phagosome
lysosomes fuse with the phagosome
lysosomes hydrolyse the cell walls of the bacteria breaking it down
the phagocyte presents the antigens of the pathogen on its surface
what are the two types of lymphocyte
b lymphocyte
t lymphocyte
where do b lymphocytes mature
bone marrow
where do t lymphocytes mature
thymus gland
what type of immunity are B cells associated with
humoral
what type of immunity are T cells associated with
cell mediated
what are antigen presenting cells
cells that can present foreign antigens on their surface
how do T cells recognise cells to destroy
they display foreign antigens
how do T cells help to destroy pathogens
receptors on the t helper cells are complementary to the antigens presented on the surface of phagocytes. this attachment stimulates the T cell to divide rapidly by mitosis forming cloned cells these cells can do one of four things
what are the four things that can happen to T cells after they have been cloned
a memory cells
b stimulate phagocytes for phagocytosis
c stimulate B cells
d activate cytotoxic T cells
how do cytotoxic T cells kill cells
they produce a protein called perforin which creates holes in the cell surface membrane so the cell loses control of what enters and leaves and the cell dies
what is humeral response
response to infection using antibodies
what is clonal selection
each B cell has a differently shaped actively site which is complementary to online antigen. when the body is infected with the pathogen with this antigen the B cell engulfs it and displays the antigen. the cell bind to this displayed and stimulate B cell to divide by mitosis
what is the name of the process by which B cells display a foreign antigen on their cell surface
endocytosis §
when B cells are cloned what are the two things they can turn into
memory cells or plasma cells
what type of cell is responsible for the primary defence
plasma cell
what do plasma cells do
they bind to the antigen to form an antibody antigen complex
how do plasma cells kill pathogens
antibodies have two binding sites meaning they can bind to multiple pathogens at once. this causes them to clump together agglutination so phagocytes recognise and destroy them
how do memory cells help to kill pathogens
they coordinate the secondary response when you are infected again they divide rapidly to produce plasma cells which secrete antibodies and more memory cells so there is less chance of becoming ill
why is the primary immune repose so slow
there aren’t many B cells that can secrete the antibody needed to fight pathogen
what happens during the primary immune repose
you show signs of the disease it takes time for the necessary B cells to be made. then memory cells are made which make the secondary response faster
why do you often show no symptoms of a disease after being infected a second time
clonal selection happens faster so the right B cells and antibodies are created quicker and the immune system gets rid of any pathogens before you show symptoms
how many polypeptide chains are antibodies made form
4 two heavy and two light
what is the binding site on each antibody called and why
the variable region it differs between all antibodies so they are specific to just one antigen
what are the two ways in which antibodies can help to destroy cells
agglutination - clumping that pathogens together
they act as markers which stimulate the phagocytes to attack the pathogen
what are monoclonal antibodies
antibodies produced from a single group of genetically identical B cells
why do antibodies have unique binding sites
they have unique tertiary structures
what are the two ways in which monoclonal antibodies can help cure cancer
1) antibodies with a complementary shape to the tumour markers on the cancer cells are produced. they attach to the cells and block the chemical signals that stimulate tumour growth
2) anti cancer drugs are attached to the antibodies when they bind to the antigens on the tumour they release these chemicals which destroy the cells
how are monoclonal antibodies used to diagnose certain cancers
with some cancers a higher level of a certain protein will be present. monoclonal antibodies that interact with this protein are given to the person and highlight the increased levels
how are monoclonal antibodies used in pregnancy test kits
mothers produce hCG when they are pregnant
the application area of the stick contains antibodies for hCG which are attached to a blue dye
if hCG is present it will bind with the antibodies forming a complex and move up the strip and carry the blue dye with it. at the test strip there are immobilised antibodies. any hCG will bind with these antibodies and the blue dye will show up in a solid line
3 ethical concerns with monoclonal antibodies
making mice produce tumour cells involved deliberately giving the cancer
there have been deaths associated with monoclonal antibodies treating MS
in one experiment six healthy volunteers suffered organ failure
how are monoclonal antibodies produced
a mouse is exposed to the disease
the B cells in the mouse make antibodies which are extracted
these cells are mixed with tumour cells
detergent breaks down the cell membranes so the two can fuse together forming a hybridoma
the hybridoma cells are separated and cloned
successful clones are produced on a large scale
what is passive immunity
the type of immunity you get form being given antibodies by a different organism
why is passive immunity only temporary
no memory cells are formed
what is active immunity
the body is stimulate by an antigen into producing its own antibodies
what is natural active immunity
an individual is infected with a disease under normal circumstances
what is artificial active immunity
inducing an immune repose in an individual without them getting the disease
which type of immunity means you have to be exposed to an antigen
active
which type of immunity gives you immediate protection
passive
which type of immunity produced memory cells
active
which type of immunity is long lasting
the antibody as well as memory cells are produced by the body after infection
4 features of successful vaccination programme
the vaccine must be cheap and widely available
minimum side effects
must be possible to achieve herd immunity
there must be appropriate means of administering it
why are vaccines so good
they allow you to build up memory cells to a disease without suffering from it
why are booster vaccines given
to make sure that sufficient memory cells are produced
why are vaccines not given orally 2
it may be broken down by enzymes in the gut
it could be too large to be absorbed into the blood
what is herd immunity
when such a large proportion of the population has been vaccinated against a pathogen it makes it difficult to spread
why is herd immunity important
it is never possible to vaccinate all people in a population against a disease
why might vaccination be ineffective 4
antigenic variability
certain pathogens can ‘hide’ from the vaccine
there may be too many strains of a pathogen to vaccinate against all of them
people with defective immune systems won’t be effective
what is antigenic variation
some pathogens can change the antigens on their surface so the antibodies in our bodies aren’t effective against them anymore
memory cells of our previous vaccination won’t recognise these antigens as foreign so we will be infected again
ethical issues with vaccines 4
animal testing
testing on volunteers can lead to unnecessary illness
its unfair that those who don’t want the vaccine due to the side effects are protected by herd immunity
in an epidemic difficult decisions about who would receive the vaccine
which disease was the MMR vaccine linked to
autism
what is an antibody
a protein produced by a B cell in reposes to the complementary antigen
what are cytokines
chemicals secreted by t helper cells to activate B cells
ethical issues with monoclonal antibodies
animals are purposefully given cancer to produce the tumour cells needed
flaws with the research suggesting MMR vaccine leads to autism
the sample size was just 12 children
the bias of medical companies conducting it
what can HIV lead to
AIDS
what is AIDS
the immune system weakens and eventually fails so the victim is more susceptible to infections
how does HIV caused symptoms of AIDS
it infects and eventually kills the t helper cells
these cells are what stimulate phagocytes, cytotoxic T cells and B cells. without T cells the body can’t fight infection and so you become very ill
when do people with HIV develop AIDS
when the helper T cells in their body reach critical low levels
what is enclosed in the capsid of an HIV cell
the genetic material RNA and enzymes reverse transcriptase
what is the capsid made from
protein
what does reverse transcriptase do
it turns the RNA in the viral cell into DNA in the host cell
how does HIV replicate
hiv enters the body and circulates around the bloodstream
the attachment proteins bind to CD4 proteins found on the surface of helper T cells
the capsid fuses with the cell surface membrane releasing the genetic material and enzyme into the cell
once there reverse transcriptase converts the virus’ RNA into dna.
the dna moves into the nucleus of the t helper cell. once there the dna makes mRNA using the cells enzymes
this contains instructutuins for making new viral proteins and RNA. the mRNA leaves through the nucleus pore and uses the cell protein synthesis mechanisms to make HIV particles. a piece of t helper cells cell membrane surrounds the particles and they break away forming new viruses
what are the initial symptoms of AIDS
infections of mucous membranes eg nose ears and genitals
factors that affect the progression of HIV to AIDS
existing infections
strain of HIV
access to healthcare
what happens during the late stages of HIV
the patients can develop a variety of serious infections like fungal infections of the respiratory system which ultimately kill the patient
what drugs are given to slow down the progression of hiv
antiviral drugs
how can hiv be spread from person to person 3
unprotected sex
infected bodily fluids
from mother foetus
how do antibiotics kill bacteria
bacteria cells are surrounded by a cell wall made of a protein called murein
as water enters the cell by osmosis the cells stretches against the wall.
the murein is inelastic and so stops more water form moving into the cell
antibiotics stop the production of murein which weakens the cell walls. when water moves into cells with these weak walls they burst
why don’t antibiotics kill viruses
they have no cell wall made of murein that the antibiotic could destroy
what does the ELISA test do
uses antibodies and antigens to see if a patient has a surprising number of antigens or antibodies
how does the ELISA test work
apply the sample to a surface
wash to remove any unattached antigens
add the antibody that is specific to the antigen
leave the two to bind together
wash the surface again to remove any excess antibodies add a secondary antibody attached to an enzyme which can bind with the first antibody
add the colourless substrate of the enzyme
the enzyme will act upon the substrate to turn it coloured
the amount of the antigen present is relative to the intensity of the end colour observed
how are antibodies produced
1 virus contains antigen
2 virus engulfed by phagocyte / macrophage
3 presents antigen to B cell
4 memory cells/ B cells become activated
5 divides to form clones
6 by mitosis
7 plasma cells produce antibodies
8 antibodies specific to antigen
9 correct reference to T cells - cytokines
what are cytokines
chemicals produced by T cells which stimulate B cells to divide by mitosis
describe how the presentation of a virus antigen leads to the secretion of an antibody against this virus antigen
1 helper T cell/TH cell binds to the antigen
2 this helper T/TH cell stimulates a specific B cell
3 B cell clones/divides by mitosis
4 forms plasma cells that release antibodies
