I7 Hypersensitivity and Autoimmunity Flashcards
Learning Outcomes (for general perusal)
Be able to:
- Compare/contrast organ specific vs. systemic autoimmunity
- Explain the mechanisms underlying Type I, II, III, and IV hypersensitivity reactions
- List examples of diseases in each category
- Explain the immunopathology, clinical presentation and treatment involved in each type
What is Hypersensitivity?
What does it result in?
Exaggerated or inappropriate immune responses
Tissue damage, serious disease, death
How can different hypersensitivity reactions be distinguished from each other?
Outline the reactions
Which of these are Humoral Immunity and which are T-cell mediated?
By the type of immune response and differences in the the effector molecules generated in the course of the reaction
- Type I - IgE mediated reactions
- Type II - Cytolytic or cytotoxic reactions
- Type III - Immune Toxic Reactions
- Type IV - Cell mediated Immunity Reactions
Humoral Immunity = TI, TII, TIII
T-Cell Mediated= TIV
Outline Hypersensitivity Classification (I-IV) with examples of each
TI - IgE-Mediated Hypersensitivity
Systematic anaphylaxis and localised anaphylaxis (hay fever, asthma, hives, food allergies and eczema)
TII - IgG or IgM-Mediated
blood transfusion reactions, erythroblastosis fetalis, autoimmune haemolytic anaemia
TIII - Immune Complex-Mediated Hypersensitivity
Localised Arthus Reaction, serum sickness, necrotizing vasculitis, glomerulonephritis, rheumatoid arthritis and systematic lupus erythematosus
TIV - Cell-Mediated Hypersensitivity
Contact dermatitis, tubercular lesions, and graft rejection
Type 1 Hypersensitivity
- What are the three phases?
- Summarise it
- What are the cells involved in the
- Sensitization phase
- Activation Phase
- Effector Phase
- Sensitization Phase, Activation Phase, Effector Phase
- Ag induces cross linking of IgE bound to mast cells and basophils with release of vasoactive mediators
- B Cell, TH2 Cell, Memory cells, Plasma Cells, Allergen-specific IgE
- Sensitized mast cell (with allergen-specific IgE in Fc receptor) + allergen
- Mast cell degranulation => HISTAMINE to histamine Rs (H1-H4)
- Effectors = smooth muscle cell, small blood vessel, mucous gland, blood platelets, sensory nerve endings, eosinophil
Type 1 Hypersensitivity
- Where are mast cells found?
- What is on their surface?
- What is the action of the histamine released?
- Throughout connective tissue, especially near blood and lymphatic vessels, skin and mucous membranes (eg. respiratory and GI tract)
- Fc receptor for IgE
- bind H1-4 receptors, induces contraction of smooth muscle, increased permeability of venules, vasodilation and increased mucous production
Type 1 Hypersensitivity
Systemic Anaphylaxis
- What is it intiated by?
- What processes occur?
- What are the common human allergens
- What is the treatment?
- Initiated by an allergen introduced into blood, or absorbed by gut or skin
- Smooth muscle contraction (gut, bladder, bronchiole). Systemic vasodilation (drop in blood pressure). Shock-like, often fatal
- bee/wasp venom, penicillin; seafood, nut
- Epinephrine
Type 1 Hypersensitivity
Localised Hypersensitivity Reactions (Atopy)
- Describe this type of reaction
- Give examples
- What is the treatment?
- Hypersensitivity reaction localised to specific target tissue or organ
- Allergic rhinitis (hay fever), Asthma, Atopic dermatitis
- anti-histimines and anti-leucotrienes
Type II Hypersensitivity
Antibody-Mediated Cytotoxic Hypersensitivity
- What does it involve?
- Describe the pathophysiology
- What is this reaction mediated by?
- Involves antibody-mediated destruction or modulation of host cells
- Antibody binds to cell surface antigen and can:
- activate the complement system to target cell for destruction
- mediate cell destruction by antibody-dependent cell
- mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC)
- alter cell function (promote or inhibit)
- IgM and IgG
Type II Hypersensitivity
What are the outcomes of
- Complement C1-9 (give examples)
1.
- Lysis of cell (Cold autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, myasthenia gravis)
- Complement Activation (warm autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, ITP)
- C3b attachment
- Opsonisation
- Phagocytosis
- Complement Activation (Goodpasture’s Syndrome)
- Activation of neutrophils
- Tissue Damage
Type II Hypersensitivity
What are the outcomes of
Functional activities being altered? (give examples)
- Metabolic stimulation (Grave’s disease)
- Activation/cell secretion
- Growth stimulation (euthyroid goitre)
- Blocking of receptor (pernicious anaemia or Addison’s disease)
- or mobility (Infertility)
- or growth (Myxoedema)
Type III Hypersensitivity (Immune Complex-Mediated Hypersensitivity)
- Outline this reaction
- What does the magnitude of the reaction depend upon?
- Where are the common sites for this reaction?
- Ag-Ab complexes deposited in various tissues induce complement activation. An inflammatory response mediated by massive infiltration of neutrophils follows and subsequent degranulation. Lytic enzymes from granules cause tissue damage(Classical Complement Pathway)
- The amount of immune complexes
- blood vessel walls, synovial membrane of joints, glomerular basement membrane
Type IV Hypersensitivity/ Delayed-Type Hypersensitivity (DTH) (Cell-Mediated Hypersensitivity)
- What is the Inflammatory response mediated by?
- What is it characterised by?
- What are the common agents?
- TH - T helper cells
- large influx of inflammatory cells esp. macrophages. Delayed: 24-72 hours. Often helpful and plays important role in combating intracellular pathogens and contact antigens. Can cause damage and be pathological.
- poison oak, poison ivy, nickel, chromate, rubber
Autoimmune Disorders
- What are these?
- Give examples of Organ-Specific Autoimmune Disorders
- Give examples of Systemic Autoimmune diseases
- Complex range of disorders. Inappropriate activation of immune response. Development of auto-antibodies and specific cells against self-protein/DNA/RNA. Spectrum from organ specific to systemic disease – can have devastating consequences.
- T1DM, Goodpasture’s Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, Graves’ Disease, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Autoimmune Pernicious Anaemia, Autoimmune Addison’s Disease, Vitiligo, Myasthenia Gravis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis, Scleroderma, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Primary Sjogren’s Syndrome, Polymyositis
Outline Immune Tolerance
The body establishes tolerance mechanisms to distinguish between self and non-self antigens
- However, self-reactive B and T cells can persist in normal subjects having failed to be eliminated in the bone marrow and thymus respectively at the immature stage (central tolerance).
- Mechanisms of peripheral tolerance to control these cells may also be impaired resulting in autoimmune disease