Handout 13: Effector Mechanisms of Humoral Immunity Flashcards
What are the four main effector functions of Abs?
- neutralize microbes and their toxins
- opsonize them for phagocytosis of microbes (macrophage)
- sensitize them for Ab dependent cellular cytotoxicity (Ab dependent cytotoxicity)–(NK cell)
- activate the complement system which can result in 3 outcomes: phagocytosis of microbes opsonized with complement fragments (C3b), Inflammation, lysis of microbes
These various effector functions may be mediated by different Ab isotypes
What cell produces Abs and where are they produced?
Abs are produced by plasma cells in primary bone marrow and secondary lymphoid organs
Abs that mediate protective immunity can be derived from two different types of plasma cells. What are they?
short-lived and long-lived Ab-producing plasma cells
Are Abs limited to functions to areas around where they are produced or can they work in distant areas as well?
They perform effector functions in various tissues distant from their production
Many of the effector functions of Abs are mediated by what specific portion of the Ig molecule? Do all types of this part of the Ig have the same effector function?
Many effector functions are mediated by the heavy chain constant region (Fc) of Ig molecule. No, different Ig heavy isotypes serve distinct effector functions.
What must first occur for Ab effector functions to be triggered?
Ag must bind
What are the major differences between short-lived and long-lived plasma cells?
short-lived plasma cells:
generated during T-independent responses
may be generated early during T-dependent responses in extrafollicular B cell foci
are generally found in secondary lymphoid organs in peripheral non-lymphoid tissues
long-lived plasma cells:
generated in T-dependent germinal center responses to protein Ag
Are generated by signals from the BCR and IL-21 via a stage of their precursors called plasmablasts
Plasmablasts generated in germinal centers enter the circulation and home to the ____ where they differentiate into ___ ___ ___ ___
bone marrow
long-lived plasma cells
Typically 2 to 3 weeks after immunization, what becomes a major site of Ab production?
bone marrow
Is Ag always needed to secrete Abs or can it be secreted after the Ag is not present?
Plasma cells can continue to secrete Abs for months or even years after the Ag is no longer present. These Abs can provide immediate protection if the Ag is encountered later
How much of Abs in the blood is produced by long-lived plasma cells? What type of Ags are long-lived plasma- cells specific for?
50%
Long-lived plasma cells are specific for Ags that were encountered in the past
Where are memory cells generated? What kind of Ags do memory cells respond to? Can they survive without continuing Ag stimulation?
Memory cells are generated mainly in germinal centers for T-dependent protein Ags
Yes, Memory cells acquire the ability to survive without continuing Ag stimulation.
What kind of Ag receptors (high affinity or low affinity) do memory cells express? What kind of Ig molecules do they express?
Memory cells express Ag receptors of high affinity (mutated) and Ig of switched isotype
Which anti-apoptotic protein do memory B cells express?
They express high levels of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2
Are Ab production the highest/fastest during the first exposure or second exposure to Ag? Why?
Abs production is accelerated after secondary exposure to Ag because memory cells are activated in germinal centers during secondary exposure
Do all memory cells remain in the lymphoid organ?
No, they may remain in the lymphoid organ where they were generated but they can also exit germinal centers and recirculate between the blood and lymphoid organs
How Vaccine-induced humoral immunity works:
Name of infectious disease: Polio
Type of vaccine
Mechanism of protective immunity
Type of vaccine: Oral attenuated poliovirus
Mechanism of protective immunity: Neutralization of virus by mucosal IgA Ab
How Vaccine-induced humoral immunity works:
Name of infectious disease: Tetanus, diptheria
Type of vaccine
Mechanism of protective immunity
Type of vaccine: Toxoids
Mechanism of protective immunity: Neutralization of toxin by systemic IgG Ab
How Vaccine-induced humoral immunity works:
Name of infectious disease: Hepatitis A or B
Type of vaccine
Mechanism of protective immunity
Type of vaccine: Recombinant viral envelope proteins
Mechanism of protective immunity: Neutralization of virus by mucosal IgA or systemic IgG Ab
How Vaccine-induced humoral immunity works:
Name of infectious disease: Pneumococcal pneumonia, Haemophilus
Type of vaccine
Mechanism of protective immunity
Type of vaccine: conjugate vaccines composed of bacterial capsular polysaccharide attached to a carrier protein
Mechanism of protective immunity: Opsonization and phagocytosis mediated by IgM and IgG Abs, directly or secondary to complement activation
How do Abs neutralize microbes?
Abs against microbes and microbial toxins block the binding of microbes and toxins to cellular receptors
Without Ab: Infection of tissue cell by microbe–>Infected epithelial barrier cells (Infected tissue cell)
with Ab: Ab blocks the binding of microbe and infection of cell
How do microbes like influenza viruses and Gram negative bacteria infect cells?
Influenza viruses use their envelope hemagglutinin to infect respiratory epithelial cells, and Gram negative bacteria use pili to attach to and infect a variety of host cells
What specifically do Abs that bind to microbial structures do to interfere with the ability of the microbes to interact with cellular receptors?
Abs create steric hinderance to prevent infection
What do Abs do when microbes from an infected cell is about to infect an adjacent uninfected cell?
Infected tissue cells can release their microbe from dead cell and spread the infection to uninfected adjacent cell. Abs can block the infection of adjacent cell.
How do Abs neutralize toxins?
Abs block the binding of toxins to cells and thus inhibit the pathologic effects of the toxins
Without Ab, the toxin creates a pathologic effect by binding to the cell surface receptor for the toxin. Abs blocks the binding of toxin to cellular receptor
In Ab-mediated opsonization and phagocytosis, Abs of which immunoglobulin isotype coats/opsonizes microbes and promotes their phagocytosis? How do they do this?
Abs of the IgG isotype osponize microbes and promote their phagocytosis. They do this by finding to Fc receptors on phagocytes
Type of Fc receptor: Fc-gamma-RI (CD64)
Affinity for Ig:
Cell distribution:
Function:
Affinity for Ig: High; IgG1 and IgG3
Cell distribution: macrophages, neutrophils, eiosinophils
Function: Phagocytosis and cell activation
Type of Fc receptor: Fc-gamma-RII (CD32)
Affinity for Ig:
Cell distribution:
Function:
Affinity for Ig: Low
Cell distribution: Macrophages, neutrophils, DCs, B cells and NK cells
Function: Phagocytosis and cell activation; feedback inhibition
Type of Fc receptor: Fc-gamma-RIII (CD16)
Affinity for Ig:
Cell distribution:
Function:
Affinity for Ig: Low
Cell distribution: NK cells
Function: Ab-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity
Type of Fc receptor: Fc-epsilon-RI
Affinity for Ig:
Cell distribution:
Function:
Affinity for Ig: High
Cell distribution: Mast cells, basophils, eosinophils
Function: Cell activation (degranulation)
Sequence of events in Ab-mediated phagocytosis
Opsonization of microbe by IgG–>Binding of opsonized microbes to phagocyte Fc receptors (Fc-gamma-RI)–>Fc receptor signals activate phagocytosis–>phagocytosis of microbe–>killing of ingested microbe
What is the first step in Ab-mediated phagocytosis that leads to activation of phagocytes?
Binding of Fc receptors on phagocytes to multivalent ab-coated particles leads to phagocytosis and activation of phagocytes
What specific subtypes of Ig are the most efficient opsonins for promoting phagocytosis? What Fc receptor does this Ig use?
IgG1 and IgG3. They uses high affinity Fc-gamma-I (CD64) receptor
In Ab-mediated phagocytosis, signals from what activate the phagocytes to destroy microbes?
Signals from the Fc receptor activate the phagocytes and destroy microbes
Inhibitory Signaling by Fc-gamma-RIIB receptor summary
A. BCR singaling leads to PIP3 formation which binds other signaling molecules, leading to activation–>B cell activation
B. Fc receptor-associated phosphatase, SHIP (SH2 containing inositol phosphatase) converts PIP3 to PIP2 in B cell-receptor complex, blocking downstream signaling–>B cell receptor signaling, no activation
In inhibitory signaling, what two things does the Ag-Ab complex simultaneously bind to?
binds to membrane Ig (through Ag) and the Fc-gamma-RIIB receptor through the Fc portion of the Ab
What is the consequence of the Ag-Ab complex simultaneously binding to the membrane Ig (through Ag) and the Fc-gamma-RIIB receptor (through Fc portion of Ab)?
Because of the simulatneous ligation of receptors, phosphatases associated with the cytoplasmic tail of the Fc-gamma-RIIB inhibit signaling by the BCR complex and block B cell activation
How is FcR-Mediated Ab Feedback triggered? What does it do?
triggered by secreted Ab. It blocks further Ab production as opposing the activation via CR2. It is a physiological control mechanism in humoral immune responses
When is Abs provide complement-mediated amplification and when does it provide Fc-receptor mediated inhibition?
Not clear, but one likely scenario is that:
IgM that activates complement but do not bind to to Fc-gamma-R are involved in amplification whereas increasing production of IgG leads to feedback inhibition
What did they find in studies of mice where the Fc-gamma-IIB gene was knocked out?
Uncontrolled Ab production
What autoimmune disease is a polymorphism in the Fc-gamma-RIIB gene linked to?
susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus
What is Ab-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC)
Ab of certain IgG subclass bind to infected host cells and the Fc regions of the bound Ab are recognized by an Fc-gammaRIII on Nk cells
The NK cells are then activated and kill Ab-coated cell
What is the role of Perforin in Ab-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC)?
Perforin induces uptake of granzymes into target cell endosome and release into cytosol, activating caspases
What is the function of the IgE-Fc-epsilon-RI?
kills helminths
IgE that coat helminths can bind to Fc-epsilon-RI oneosinophils and cause the degranulation of these cells, releasing the basic protein andother eosinophil granule contents that kill the parasites
Why are microbicidal products of neutrophils and macrophages not enough to get rid of worms (helminths)? What then is needed to kill the worms?
Worms are too large to be engulfed by phagocytes and they are relatively resistant to the microbicidal products of neutrophils and macrophages.
Worms can be killed by a toxic catonic protein called major basic protein which is present in granules of eosionphils
___, ___ and ___ function together to mediate the killing and expulsion of some helminthic parasites
IgE, eosinophils, mast cells
What are the basic components of the complement system and what is its function?
Complement system consists of serum and cell surface proteins that interact with one another and with other molecules of the immune system in a highly regulated manner to generate products that function to eliminate microbes
The complement system is a major effector mechanism for both ____ and ___ immunity
humoral, innate
How is the complement system activated?
activated by microbes and by Abs that are attached to microbes and other Ags
Activation of complement involves the ___ ___ of proteins to generate enzyme complexes with proteolytic activity
sequential proteolysis
What are the products of complement activation attached/bound to?
Products of complement activation become covalently attached to microbes, to Abs bound to microbes and to other Ags, and to apoptotic bodies
How is complement activation inhibited?
Inhibited by regulatory proteins that are present on normal host cells and absent from microbes
What are the three pathways of complement activation?
classical, alternative and lectin
What are the two proteolytic complexes that complement activation depends on?
C3 convertase and C5 convertase
What does C3 convertase do?
cleaves C3 into two proteolytic fragments called C3a and C3b
What does C5 convertase do?
cleaves C5 into C5a and C5b
How is the alternative pathway activated?
by C3b binding to various activating surfaces
How is the classical pathway activated?
by C1 binding to Ag-Ab complexes
How is the lectin pathway activated?
binding of a plsma lectin to microbes
What is similar about the three complement activation pathways (classical, alternative and lectin)?
The late steps of the three pathways are all the same
Complement activated by all three pathways serve the same function
How is the alternative pathway activated?
Proteolytic cleavage of the alpha chain of C3 converts it into a metastable form
The thioester bonds are exposed and susceptible to nucleophilic attack by oxygen atoms or nitrogen atoms
The result is the formation of covalent bonds with proteins or carbohydrates on the cell surfaces
What molecule is structurally homologous to C3 and has an identical thoester group?
C4
Sequence of events for alternative pathway:
Intact C3 (inaccessible thioester group)-->Cleavage of C3alpha chain by C3 convertase-->Accessible thioester group in C3b--> In fluid phase, C3b is activated by hydrolysis OR Covalent attachment of C3b to cell surface protein or polysaccharide by thioester linkage
In the alternative pathway, how is C3b generated?
Spontaneous hydrolysis of plasma C3 leads to formation of a fluid-phase C3 convertase and the generation of C3b
Under what conditions in the alternative pathway is C3 convertase formed?
If the C3b is deposited on the surfaces of microbes, it binds Factor B and forms the alternative pathway C3 convertase
How is C5 convertase formed from C3 convertase?
C3 convertase cleaves C3 to produce more C3b, which binds to the microbial surface and participates in the formation of a C5 convertase