Exam 2: Host-Parasite Relationships: Pathogenesis of Infections Flashcards
In any host-pathogen encounter, what are the 2 principal determinants of the outcome?
Virulence of the parasite
Resistance of the host
What are opportunistic pathogens?
Bacteria or fungi that are generally harmless in their normal habitat but can cause disease when they gain entrance to other sites or tissues
They have a low potential to cause disease, but once disease is established, they can be difficult to treat
What is an obligate pathogen?
Organisms that always cause disease when it encounters a host
What is pathogenicity?
The capacity of an organism to cause disease
What is virulence?
The measure of the degree of pathogenicity
What is infectivity?
The capacity of an organisms to become established in the tissues of the host
It involves the ability to penetrate the tissue, survive the host’s defenses, and disseminate within the animal
What is toxigenicity?
The ability of certain organisms to produce exotoxins
There are both toxigenic and nontoxigenic strains of Clostridium perfingens. Which has the ability to cause disease?
Toxigenic
What is virulence factor?
A bacterial product or strategy that contributes to its ability to cause infection
What is the classical method to definitively determine whether an agent is causing disease?
Koch’s postulates
What are Koch’s postulates?
The suspected agent is present in all cases of the disease
The agent is isolated from such disease and propagated serially in pure culture, apart from its natural host
Upon introduction into an experimental host, the isolate produces the original disease
The agent can be reisolated from this experimental infection
What are the 2 basic mechanisms that bacteria cause disease by?
Direct damage of host cells
Indirectly by stimulating exaggerated host inflammatory/immune response
What is involved with direct damage of host cells?
Extracellular pathogens
Intracellular pathogens
What are extracellular pathogens?
Secreted exotoxins or effector proteins cause damage
What do intracellular pathogens do?
Destruction of host cells or alteration of host cells’ function
What are the 2 categories of virulence factors?
Those that cause damage to the host
Those that do not directly damage the host but promote colonization and survival of infecting bacteria
What are exotoxins?
Protein molecule liberated from intact living and lysed bacteria
They are antigenic and can elicit protective antitoxic antibodies
What can many exotoxins be converted to?
Nontoxic immunizing agents termed toxoids by treatment with formalin
What are the 3 roles of exotoxins in disease?
Ingestion of preformed toxin (botulism)
Colonization of wound or surface followed by toxin production
Exotoxin produced by bacteria in tissues to aid growth and spread
What are the different types of exotoxins?
A-B toxins (intracellular acting)
Membrane disrupting (surface damaging)
Superantigens
Extracellular enzymes
What are A-B toxins composed of?
Two parts: A and B portions
What does the B portion of A-B toxins do?
The B potion mediates binding to a specific host cell receptor
What happens after the B part of A-B toxins bonds to the host cell?
The A portion is translocated into host cells and has biological activity against an intracellular target
What do membrane disrupting exotoxins do?
Cause damage or disruption of plasma membranes, which leads to osmotic lysis and cell death
What are many membrane disrupting exotoxins known to cause?
Damage to host tissues and contribute to virulence
What 3 types of membrane disrupting toxins?
Enzymes that hydrolyze phospholipids
Toxins with detergent-like surfactant activity that disrupt by membrane solubilization
Pore forming toxins
What are pore forming toxins?
Proteins that insert in the host membrane and form a hydrophilic pore
What are superantigens?
Toxins that bind directly to MHC II on macrophages and form a crosslink with T cell receptors
What does crosslinking with superantigens cause?
Stimulation of up to 1 in 5 T cells
What does excessive IL-2 production from superantigens result from?
The massive stimulation of T helper cells, which causes nausea, malaise, and fever
What does the stimulation of other cytokines by IL-2 with superantigens lead to?
Shock
What do extracellular enzymes do?
Break down host macromolecules
What do extracellular enzymes often play a role in?
Disease development by providing a source of carbon and energy or aiding in dissemination
What can extracellular enzymes cause?
Extensive tissue damage
How do some vaccines or bacterins elicit protective immunity from extracellular enzymes?
By neutralizing their activity
What is an endotoxin?
Lipopolysaccharide produced by pathogenic and nonpathogenic gram-negative bacteria