I1 - intro to immunology Flashcards
what are the 2 major systems of immunity?
innate and adaptive
describe innate immunity
present at birth, responds rapidly, has no specificity, has no memory
what are the 3 barriers involved in innate immunity?
physical, chemical, biological
example of a physical barrier in innate immunity?
impermeable outer surface
example of a chemical barrier in innate immunity?
acidity of stomach
example of biological barrier in innate immunity?
competition with commensal bacteria
name the 3 types of phagocytic cells in innate immunity?
macrophages, monocytes, neutrophils
function of NK cells?
kill tumour cells and virally-infected cells
function of eosinophils?
attack and kill parasites
describe adaptive immunity
slow to start, highly specific, has memory, regognises self and non-self components
what are the 2 key components in adaptive immunity?
humoral and cellular components
describe humoral immunity
antibodies, specific proteins produced against pathogens, produced by B-lymphocytes.
describe cellular immunity
b lymphocytes, t lymphocytes, helper T cells, hypotoxic T cells
what does adaptive immunity provide?
an immunological memory
what are the two roles of the immune system?
recognition function = recognising foreign invader
effector function = removing foreign invader
what usually is this invader?
an anitgen
what is an antigen?
an antigen is any substance which elicits an immune response
define an epitope
the part of an antigen to which the antibody attaches itself. aka = antigenic determinant
What are the 2 ways in which epitopes/antigenic determinants are recognised?
antibodies (humoral) and T cells (cellular)
key message about antigens?
they are foreign!!
types of antigens?
carbohydrate, lipid, drugs, inorganic molecules, nucleic acids, proteins
