Core Immunology - Part 2 Flashcards
What does immunocompromised mean
disruption of specific defence of an organ/system
What disease do we worry about with burns
Pseudomonas and group A streptococcal infections
What can alter defence to make us more immunocompromised
Extremes of age, malnutrition or pregnant
Markedly immune compromised in neonates at 20 weeks and towards the end of pregnancy
What are the type of qualitative defects you can get in neutrophils
Reduced chemotaxis - rare, congenital - due to inadequate signalling/receptors and movement
Reduced killing power
how is killing power reduced in neutrophils
Inherited Chronic Granulomatous Disease
Defecient in NADPH Oxidase - can’t make H2O2 - can’t kill bacteria
Can’t mount a phagocytic response
Susceptible to Staph. Aureus infections
What is the quantitative defect in neutrophils
Neutropenic - especially severe if less than 0.5x10^9
What can make you neutropenic
cancer treatment
bone marrow malignancy
aplastic anaemia
What infections are you particularly susceptible in neutropenic patients
Pseudomonal - over 50% will die from these within 24 hours
What bacteria are you susceptible if you are neutropenic
Gram -ve e.g. E. coli
Gram +ve e.g. Staph aurues
Coagulase negative staph - when you put a line in
What fungal infections are you susceptible if you are neutropenic
Candida albicans and aspergillus
How to prevent infection in neutropenic patients
Broad spectrum antibiotics - amino glycoside and antipseudomonal penicillin
2nd line is carbapenems and then antifungals
Also give GCSF (granulocyte colony stimulating factors) - try to get the immune system working
Discuss types of T cell deficiencies
Congenital: Rare - T helper dysfunction +/- hypogammaglobulinaemias
Acquired: Drugs (cyclosporin after transplantation as decreases change of rejection)
Also through viruses
What pathogens usually infect you in T cell deficiencies
Opportunistic pathogens that tend to be intracellular
What bacteria are you susceptible to in T cell defeciency
Listeria (in cheese and pate so pregnant women should avoid)
TB
What viral infections are you susceptible to in T cell deficiency
HSV, CMV, VZV
Receive appropriate aciclovir and ganciclovir treatment and prophylaxis
What fungal infections are you susceptible to in T cell deficiencies
Candida albicans and cryptococcus
What Protozoa and parasitic infections are you susceptible to in T cell deficiencies
1) Cryptosporidium parvum (sporozoa)
2) Toxoplasmos Gondii (sporozoa)
3) Strongyloides stercolis (nematode)
Describe cryptosporidium infection
Often in T cell deficiencies Spread by faecal/oral route - can be spread in water Get severe diarrhoea - unto 3 weeks Immunocompromised may not recover Only symptomatic treatment
Descrive Toxoplasma Gondii infection
Humans infected with cat faeces or transplanted heart or liver
May get lesion in brains or neurological signs
Most immunocompetent patients are asymptomatic - only get infected with T cell deficiencies
Describe strongyloides stercolis infection
Nematode
Get when worm enters your bare feet in the tropics - can be asymptomatic for a long time until immunocompromised
Worm can move from gut to bloodstream - infects blood with GI flora get gram negative septicaemia
Normal patients asymptomatic or rash of larva currens
Who do we suspect strongyloides stercolis infection
Patients from tropical countries or old prisoners of war
What are hypogammaglobulinaemias
Antibody problems/deficiences
Congenital causes of hypogammaglobulinaemias
X-linked agammaglobulinaemias
Acquired causes of hypogammaglobulinaemias
Multiple myeloma
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
Burns
What disease are you susceptible to in hypogammaglobulinaemias
Usually encapsulated bacteria in the respiratory tract (pneumoniae)
Or Giardia lamblia/cryptosporidium in the GIT
Why are you susceptible to parasites in hypogammaglobulinaemias
No IgA
How do we treat hypogammaglobulinaemias
Replace immunoglobulins
What are we at risk of in complement deficiencies
Encapsulated bacteria - we need complement activation to kill these organisms
The earlier the defect in the system the more susceptible we are
Also frequent S.pneumoniae infections due to poor opsonisation
What are we at risk of with C5-C8 deficiency
Neisseria meningitidis - MAC not formed so no lysis of bacteria
What does the spleen do
Source of complement and antibody producing B cells
Also removal of opsonised bacteria from blood
Why might we have a splenectomy
Trauma
Surgery
Functional e.g. sickle cell anaemia
What are we susceptible to in splenectomies
Strep pneumoniea, haemophilius influenza type B, neisseiria meningitidis, malaria
How to treat people with splectomies
Education
Vaccination
Prophylactic penicillin
What are biologics
Antibodies or other peptides that inhibit inflammatory cytokine signals
e.g. TNF inhibiting T cell activation or depleting B cells
What are you at risk of rheumatoid arthritis
TB, HZV, Legionalla Listeria etc. Due to biolgics Same as T cell deficiencies
What do we have liver transplants for
Hep C
Paracetamol overdose
What are the opportunistic infections after transplantation
CMV and aspergillus in the first 3 months
What are the later infections after transplantation
More T cell deficiency problems
E.g. listeria, VZV, candida
How do we prevent infection in immunocompromised infections
Hand washing
Aseptic techniques
Protectice isolation
Vaccinated patients - avoid live vaccines in T cell deficieincies
HEPA Air filtration removes aspergillus spores
Prophylaxis
Special diets e.g. avoid soft cheeses and pate
Who do we not give live vaccines to?
T cell deficient patients!
What do cytotoxic T cells do
Bind to infected cell
Perforin makes a hole in the membrane
Injects enzyme to cause apoptosis
How do Helper T cells work
Secrete cytokines to control immune response and help B and T lymphocytes
What is the target of HIV
Helper T cells
What do suppressor T cells do
Dampen down the immune response
How do antibodies promote phagocytosis
Neutrolization (blocks viral binding sites and coats bacteria)
Agglutination of microbes
Precipitation of dissolved antigens
What do antibodies activate
The complement system leading to cell lyiss
How does the innate system activate adaptive
They engulf micro-organisms and present them to cells
What are there common causes of immunodeficiency
Some are primary due to genetic defects - rare and often diagnosed early in childhood due to recurrent infection
Secondary - due to external factors e.g. stress, trauma, malnutrition, cancer, immunosuppressants, TB, HIV, AIDS, irradiation
What does IRAK do
It is a protein that causes the Nf-kb transcription factors to be produced
What is Nf-kb pathway essential for
Essential for the cell to produce inflammatory cytokines and cheekiness!
What happens in IRAK deficiency
Normally Toll Like Receptors (TLRs) recognise components of the cell wall and feed to the IRAK protein to activate the Nf-KB pathway
In deficiency have normal levels of WBC’s but much lower CRP in pneuomoccal pneumonia.
Would expect much larger response but no cytokines due to IRAK protein problems
What is chronic granulomatous disease
Mutation in NADPH Oxidase (gp91 most common and it is X-linked!!)
How does NADPH-oxidase mutation cause disease
Normally it transfers H+ across the membrane to produce free radicals and HOCL - makes the phagosome for more acidic to activate the proteolytic enzymes and kill bacteria
If theres a problem can’t transfer the protein
Cant acidify the phagosome
Cant kill the bacteria
Disease in chronic granulomatosus
Osteromyelitis Pneumonia Swollen lymph nodes Gingivitis Non-malignant granulomas IBD
How would we diagnose chronic granulomatosus
Nitroblue tetrazolium test (NBT)
Incubate neutrophils with NBT - they take in the dye
If NADPH-oxidase is working they make the blue dye a very dark colour –> in chronic granulomatous this doesn’t happen
Absent terminal complement pathway activity (C5-8) makes you susceptible to what
Meningococcal infections
But you would still have normal levels of immune molecules
How would we measure terminal complement pathway activity
Incubate sheep RBC with antibody to sheep RBC
Complement system should activate in this and should be lysis of the RBC
Presentation of absent terminal complement activity
Previous episodes of meningitis
No family history
Normal immune levels