Humoral Immunity Flashcards
What is humoral immunity?
Immunity that is mediated by secreted antibodies and peptides against extracellular microbes and toxins (antibody, complement)
Describe the 2 ways in which B cells can be activated.
- Antibodies are secreted by _____ cells
- Perform effector functions _____ (relative location)
- Neutralize and eliminate infectious _____ and microbial _____
- plasma
- distally
- microbes, toxins
What is the difference between the primary and secondary Ab responses?
Primary response = when antigen is first encountered, usually slow response time and takes about 1 week
Different Isotypes allow the antibodies to have different ____ functions.
Effector
The effector functions are triggered by the binding of____ to the variable regions.
antigens
Effector mechanisms not active when not bound to ____.
antigen
What are 4 major effector functions of antibodies?
Activate the complement system
Neutralize mircobes and toxins
Opsonization and phagocytosis
Ab dependent cellular toxicity
Describe how an antibody would neutralize a microbe or toxin.
- The antibody can bind to microbes to block their entry into tissues through the epithelium or block their ability to bind to receptors on cells that would mediate their entry into the cell.
- The antibody can bind to the toxin and prevent the toxin from binding to the cellular receptor to produce a response.
What is opsonization? What is an opsonin?
Opsonization = process of coating particles for phagocytosis
Opsonin = molecule that coats microbes to enchance phagocytosis
Describe the process of opsonization and phagocytosis.
IgG (opsonin) binds to the microbe and coats the microbe with Ab (opsonization). Phagocytic cells express Fc_gamm_R1, which recognizes the constant region of IgG. The receptor binds IgG which activates the phagocyte and results in internalization of the microbe and Ab and subsequent degradation of the Ab and microbe inside the phagocyte.
What antibody is important for opsonization of microbes?
IgG
What is antibody dependent cellular toxicity?
IgG binds to antigen on the surface of a cell (could be microbe/pathogen, could be self) –> NK cells expressing Fc_gamma_RIII receptor recognize the cell and receptor binds to constant domain of IgG –> activates NK cell to release granules which kill the Ab coated cell.
How do antibodies play a role in killing parasites (helminths)?
Helminths are too large to be phagocytized. Instead, circulating IgE binds to surface antigen on the helminths and coats them in Ab. The eosinophil expresses receptors on surface for constant region of IgE. When eosinophil binds to IgE, it is activated (with help of Th2 cell and IL-5) and it degranulates releasing major basic protein (toxic, cationic protein) which kills the helminth.
How do antibodies activate the complement system?
The classical pathway of the complement system requires antibody to become activated.
What are the 3 major outcomes of the complement system?
Opsonization and phagocytosis
Cytolysis (MAC)
Inflammation
What are the 3 goals of vaccination?
Safe
Produce life-long immunity
Produce immunity in large % population
- What is a life-attenuated vaccine?
- What are the pros?
- What are the cons?
- A vaccine that consists of an intact microbe that is altered in a way that it can no longer cause disease
- Produces innate and apative immune response, activates humoral and cellular immunity components, produces life-long immunity
- In rare cases, viruses that are delivered this way can become reactivated and cause disease; these are not safe for those who are immunocompromised
- What is a purified antigen vaccination?
- What additional compound are these delivered with?
- What are the pros?
- What are the cons?
- Antigens purified from microbes OR inactivated toxins
- An adjuvant that is needed to stimulate the innate immunity
- Elicits both innate and adaptive immune responses and does not have a risk of reactivation
- The response is generally weaker and boosters may be required
What is serum protein electrophoresis?
Essentailly just gel electrophoresis that separates proteins in the serum used in tandem with a density meter that looks at the density of various bands on the gel. Abs are found in the gamma peak / band.