Immune system Flashcards
What is the immune system?
It protects the body from pathogens, toxins, and threats. It works together with the lymphatic system.
What are the 2 kinds of immunity?
Innate immunity ( able to fight threats without previous exposure), and adaptive immunity (Initiated from previous exposure).
Explain Innate immunity
Includes: barriers (physical and chemical) like the skin, inflammatory response, and cell types associated with inflammatory response.
Describe physical barriers
Skin and mucous coverings of respiratory, digestive, and urinary tracts.
Describe chemical barriers
Sweat from the skin can kill some pathogens, acid content in the stomach, beneficial bacteria in the intestine.
Describe the inflammatory response
Occurs when tissue is damaged (bump on the knee, bruise, scrape) damaged area will inflame, serves to wall off infections, and increases access of immune system.
What are mast cells? (describe)
A type of white blood cell, will find in the skin, lungs, and intestinal tract. They release histamines which bind to endothelial cells of capillaries, which then dilate.
What are some other types of white blood cells and what is their primary role.
Macrophages and phagocytes which are involved in Inflammatory response.
What are dendritic cells
White blood cells that release cytokines and signal other cells to act. Cytokines may signal macrophages.
What are neutrophils
Another type of white blood cell.
What white blood cell is pus associated with
Phagocytes
Describe natural killer cells
They make cell to cell contact to cause death to another cell, they seek out and kill cells that lack a “self” molecule.
Describe protective proteins
Also called compliment proteins, can bind to mast cells and cause histamine response. Can also help attract the different white blood cells to come to the site and can bind to pathogen surface and help ID for white blood cells to target.
Describe Interferons
Proteins produced by cells that have been infected by viruses. These proteins then bind receptors of non-infected cells. They cause cells to produce substances that stop viral replication.
Describe Adaptive immunity
Used when innate immunity failed to stop infection, has to do with antigens.
What is an antigen?
Any molecule that causes immune system to react, recognize, and try to respond.
What are antibodies
Products produced by some of the white blood cells that inactivate antigens.
What do different antibodies do?
Most are produced to bind to a pathogen, activate compliment proteins, and invite phagocytosis by white blood cells. They also may prevent pathogen from attaching to the surface of respiratory and digestive tracts
What are B and T cells
White blood cells that recognize the antigens that may be found on surface of a particular pathogen, and is related to the shape of antigens. B cells make Y shaped antibodies that recognize and bind to the antigen surface.
What do T cells do?
Help B cells make antibodies and send some cytokines to attract more white blood cells. Some kill virus infected directly
What are the 2 types of adaptive immunity and describe them
Active immunity, where person alone produces immune response and developed own antibodies after pathogen exposure.
Passive immunity, person received antibodies or cells from another individual.
