Exam 8: Chapter 10 Flashcards
How do most infectious pathogens enter the body?
Through mucosal tissues
What are mucosae?
Interfaces with our environment that are covered in mucus and contain 200x more lymphocytes than regular tissues
What are mucins?
Large glycoproteins that form networks of mucus
What are the two modes of action for mucins?
Secreted and membrane-bound
Why are the responses of the mucosal immune system different than the systemic immune system?
Mucosal immune cells are always encountering new antigens from pathogens, food, and commensal bacteria
What are the functions of commensal bacteria?
- Synthesize essential metabolites
- Break down plant fibers in food
- Inactivate toxic substances from food/pathogens
4 Prevent pathogens from benefitting from human gut resources - Interact with epithelium to trigger development of secondary lymphoid tissue
What architecture is seen in the gut?
Epithelium covered in mucus, lamina propria connective tissue beneath the epithelium
What are mesenteric lymph nodes and where are they located?
Mesenteric lymph nodes are the largest lymph nodes in the body, and they are located in the gut
What is the role of tonsils and adenoids?
To form a ring of lymphoid tissues around the entrance of the gut and airway
What is the importance of gut associated lymphoid tissues (GALTs)?
The location of numerous GALTs allows mucosal immune responses to occur locally rather than in a distant draining lymphnode
What are Peyer’s patches?
Primary GALTs found in the small intestine
What are Microfold (M) cells?
Specialized cells that are not covered in mucus and allow continual sampling of antigens and pathogens
What are probiotics designed to do?
Improve immune responses and prevent microflora changes caused by infection
What are the major differences between the system immune response and the mucosal immune response?
- Mucosal immune response is constantly activated
- Immune cells in mucosal tissues do not initiate an inflammatory response
- The TH1 response is rarely activated in mucosal tissues
What is the overall job of mucosal immunity?
To keep commensals and pathogens at bay
What do epithelial cells do once they identify a pathogen?
Locally express inflammatory cytokines and chemokines
How are pathogens and antigens brought into M cells for sampling?
Via transcytosis
What are isolated lymphoid follicles?
Small organs consisting of a single lymphoid follicle containing mostly B cells
What is the major GALT of the large intestine?
The appendix
What is the main difference between skin and mucosa?
Skin is designed to be impermeable, while mucosa actively samples antigens
How do dendritic cells respond to food?
Food is taken up by dendritic cells, brought to the mesenteric lymph node, and used to drive the differentiation of FoxP3+ T-regs
What immune response is elicited by commensals?
Commensals induce a TFH response when taken up by M cells that promotes the development of B cells that will become IgA secreting plasma cells
What role does dimeric IgA play in regards to commensals?
Dimeric IgA regulates the size of the commensal population
What immune response is elicited by pathogens?
Infection causes dendritic cells to move out of the lamina propria and GALT and capture pathogens, leading to the activation of a pathogen specific immune response
How do dendritic cells capture antigen from the gut lumen?
By extending processes across the epithelial layer
Where do dendritic cells move upon infection?
Into the epithelium
What happens to T and B cells that become activated in mucosal tissues?
They home as effector cells to the mucosal tissues