CSIM 1.17 Innate and Acquired Immunity Flashcards

1
Q
Name some of the components of the physical barriers in:
  •  Skin
  •  The gut
  •  Lungs
  •  Eyes
A

Skin
• Tight junctions
• Normal flora
• Antibacterial peptides

Gut
  •  Tight junctions
  •  Low pH
  •  Enzymes
  •  Normal flora

Lungs
• Mucus and cilia
• Tight junctions

Eyes
• Lysozymes in tears

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2
Q

What kills people in third degree burns?

A

Infection (not usually dehydration)

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3
Q

What causes increased infection in CF?

What disease has similar effects due to cilia being unable to function properly

A

Thick mucus cannot move and forms a breeding ground for pathogens

Cilial dyskinesia

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4
Q

Describe how normal flora may provide a bacterial barrier to pathogens

A

They can compete with pathogens for nutrients and produce antimicrobial substances

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5
Q

What is the symbiotic relationship of many different microorganisms called?

A

Microbiome

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6
Q

What is the second line of defence after physical barriers?

A

Innate immunity
• Proteins (e.g. complement)
• Cells (e.g. phagocytes)

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7
Q

What are the different names of macrophages based on where they are?
(Blood, Liver, Skin, CNS, Lungs)

What do all of these mature from?

A

Blood
• Monocytes

Liver
• Kuppfer cells

Skin
• Langerhans cells

CNS
• Microglial cells

Lung
• Alveolar macrophages

All mature from blood monocytes

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8
Q

What are neutrophils?

A

Another form of phagocyte (like macrophages) that are only found in infected or inflammed tissue.

They are confined to the blood until there is an infection

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9
Q

How do phagocytes differentiate self from non-self cells?

A

By identifying ‘pathogen-associated molecular patterns’ found on microbes but not human cells, using ‘pattern recognition receptors’

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10
Q

What are the different forms of pattern recognition receptors found on phagocytes?

What happens once these bind to pathogen-associated molecular patterns?

A
  • Mannose receptor
    • CD14 Lipopolysaccharide receptor
    • Glucan receptor
    • Scavenger receptor
    • Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4)

The phagocytes (macrophages, neutrophils, etc.) do two things:
• Releases cytokines and mediators of inflammation
• They engulf and digest bacteria to which they bind

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11
Q

How is hydrogen peroxide produced in phagocytes?

What is this converted to?

A
  • NADPH oxidase is activated and converts O₂ into O₂⁻ (called ‘superoxide’)
    • Superoxide dismutase converts the superoxide into hydrogen peroxide
    • This can further be converted into hypo-chlorite ions and hydroxyl radicals by peroxidase
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12
Q

What are the kinds of products formed by phagocytes which are bacteriocidal?

A
  • Acid
    • Oxygen products
    • Toxic NO
    • Antimicrobial peptides and enzymes
    • Competitors (e.g. lactoferrin which binds Fe)
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13
Q

After phagocytosis, which structures fuse to begin the digestion of the pathogen, what does this form?

A

Phagosome and lysosome fuse to form phagolysosome

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14
Q

As for receptors other than pattern recognition receptors which bind to pathogens, what do these do? Give an example of one such receptor

A

Induce pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines
• TLR-4
• NFκB

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15
Q

Which cytokines are secreted by macrophages and dendritic cells? Which tissues does each act on primarily?

A

IL 1 & 6
• Lymphocytes
• Liver

IL 8
• Phagocytes

IL 12
• T-cells

Vascular endothelium
• TNF-α (induces inflammatory vascular changes)

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16
Q

How many TLR receptors are there? What do these recognise?

A

10

Characteristic components of pathogenic organisms not found in vertebrates

17
Q

What feature of the immune system is complement a part of?

Describe what is meant by complement. What are the functions of it and which proteins are involved in each function?

A

Innate immune system

A distinct series of plasma proteins which tract with one another at sites of infection to:

  • Involved in inflammation (C3a, C5a)
  • Clearance of immune complexes (C3b)
  • OPSONISE microbes with complement components for phagocyte binding (C3b)
  • Form a membrane attack complex (MAC) to cause lysis of microbes (C5b, C6-C9) IMG 44
18
Q

What are the names of the three biochemical pathways involved in the complement system?

A
  • Classical pathway
    • Lectin pathway
    • Alternative pathway
19
Q

What induces inflammation in the innate pathway?

What are the roles of these instigators in inflammation?

A

Phagocytes via TLR (and thus release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines)
• Causes expression of adhesion molecules
• Causes vasodilation

Complement (C3a, C5a)
• Makes the blood vessels permeable

20
Q

How do leukocytes leave the blood into tissues at sites of inflammation?

A
  • Cytokines produced by macrophages in the tissues cause dilation of blood vessels and expression of ADHESION MOLECULES in the endothelium
    • Leukocytes bind to these adhesion molecules and extravasate at this site
21
Q

What is the outcome of the processes of inflammation (e.g. increased blood flow, permeability, etc.)?

A

Allows additional effector molecules and cells to migrate to the site of infection to augment killing of invading microorganisms (e.g. neutrophils which are otherwise only found in blood)

Also prevents further spread of infection by blood through microvascular coagulation

Increased entry of plasma into the infected area and thus increased drainage of this into lymph nodes to enable the adaptive response

22
Q

What is the primary role of dendritic cells?

A

These are the cells which are specialised to be antigen-presenting cells, and to migrate to the lymph nodes

23
Q

Define what is meant by lymphocytes

A

CELLS WHICH MAKE UP THE ADAPTIVE IMMUNE SYSTEM:
• B cells
• T cells

24
Q

What are the main characteristics of innate immunity? (speed, specificity and memory)

A

Rapid, non-specific and with no memory

25
Q

What are the main characteristics of adaptive immunity? (speed, specificity and memory)

A

Delayed at over 96 hours, one antibody to one antigen, memory is retained

26
Q

How many amino acids long are ‘antigens’?

A

8-12 aa