IAI - Antibody, lymphocytes, and generation of diversity Flashcards
describe adaptive immunity
- not as fast at innate
- specific
- has memory
what does adaptive immunity require
- Adaptive immunity requires lymphocytes.
- Both T and B cells.
Outline the structure of a T cell.
- heterodimer
- one binding site for antigen (blue)
- made of an alpha chain and beta chain
Outline the structure of a B cell.
- it’s an antibody moelcule
- two antigen binding sites
- two identical heavy chains (inner chains)
- two identical light chains (outer chains)
what does adaptive immunity depend on?
- Depends on cells that are individual and recognise their own unique antigen shapes.
- Also constant migration of lymphocytes with diverse receptors through blood and lymphoid tissues increases the probability that they will encounter specific antigens.
memory in adaptive immunity allows for
- higher frequency of specific cells
- respond more quickly
(NOTE - SAME PRINCIPLE FOR B AND T CELLS)
Compare the duration of innate and adaptive immunity.
Innate immunity:
- Minutes to hours
Adaptive immunity:
- First exposure (primary response) - 12 days
- Booster (secondary response) - 5-7 days
Which part of the lymphocyte is variable and which part is constant?
The tip of the cell receptor is variable and the rest of the receptor is constant.
What do we depend on to generate diversity in lymphocytes?
gene rearrangement
The tip of the variable region of the HEAVY CHAIN is composed of three parts, what are they?
- Variable
- Diversity
- Joining
The tip of the variable region of the LIGHT CHAIN is composed of two parts, what are they?
- variable
- joining
What is the number of possibilities for a rearranged combination of V, D and J in heavy chain, and in light chain, and then the combinatorial diversity of light and heavy chain together?
- Variable: 48 options
- Diversity: 27 options
- Joining: 6 options
48 x 27 x 6 = 7776 different combinations of heavy chain
340 combinations of light chain
So, for one heavy and light chain together there would be
7776 x 340 =
2,643,840 variants
= Combinatorial diversity
How is further diversity created in gene rearrangment?
- Further diversity is created by JUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY the mechanism that joins the segments together.
- This is very imprecise.
- Nucleotides are added and removed from junctions during rearrangement.
Where does B cell development occur?
bone marrow
Where does T cell development occur?
made in bone marrow, matures in thymus
What happens when a cytotoxic T cell is activated by its T cell receptor?
It differentiates to secrete cytotoxic granules.
What happens when a helper T cell is activated by its T cell receptor?
It differentiates to produces different sets of cytokines.
in the structure of an antibody, what 2 chains are they made of
2 light chains
2 heavy chains
in the structure of an antibody what are the light and heavy chains joined by?
disulfide bonds