Glossary Ch 3 Flashcards
Innate Immunity
Acute-phase reactants
Normal serum proteins that increase rapidly as a result of infection, injury, or trauma to the tissues
Alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT)
An acute-phase protein that acts as an inhibitor of proteases released from WBCs
Antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC)
The process of destroying antibody-coated target cells by natural killer cells, monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils, all of which have specific receptors for an antibody
Ceruloplasmin
An acute-phase reactant that acts as the principal copper-transporting protein in human plasma
Chemotaxis
The migration of cells in the direction of a chemical messenger
Complement
A series of proteins which are normally present in serum and whose overall functions are mediation of inflammation and destruction of foreign cells
C-reactive protein
A trace constituent of serum that increases rapidly following infection or trauma to the body and acts as an opsonin to enhance phagocytosis
Diapedesis
The process by which cells are capable of moving from the circulating blood to the tissues by squeezing through the wall of a blood vessel
External defense system
Structural barriers that prevent most infectious agents from entering the body
Fibrinogen
An acute-phase reactant that changes to fibrin and forms clots in the bloodstream
Haptoglobin
An acute-phase reactant that binds irreversibly to free hemoglobin released by intravascular hemolysis
Inflammation
Cellular and humoral mechanisms involved in the overall reaction of the body to injury or invasion by an infectious agent
Innate immunity
The ability of the individual to resist infection by means of normally present body functions
Internal defense system
Defense mechanism inside the body in which both cells and soluble factors play essential parts
Opsonins
Serum proteins that attach to a foreign substance and enhance phagocytosis
Oxidative bursts
An increase in oxygen consumption in phagocytic cells, which generate oxygen radicals used to kill engulfed microorganisms
Pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs)
Structural patterns of carbohydrates, nucleic acids, or bacterial peptides on microorganisms that are recognized by pathogen recognition receptors (PRRs) on the cells of the innate immune system
Pathogen recognition receptors (PRRs)
Receptors on cells of the innate immune system that bind to PAMPs on pathogenic microorganisms
Phagocytosis
The engulfment of cells or particulate matter by leukocytes, macrophages, or other cells
Phagolysosome
The structure formed by the fusion of cytoplasmic granules and a phagosome during the process of phagocytosis
Phagosome
A vacuole formed within a phagocytic cell as pseudopodia surround a particle during the process of phagocytosis
Serum amyloid A (SAA)
An acute-phase protein that acts as a chemical messenger to activate monocytes and macrophages in order to increase inflammation
Toll-like receptor
Receptors found on human leukocytes and other cell types that recognize microorganisms and aid in their destruction
