Immune system I - Principles of immunity Flashcards
What is the immune system?
Parts of the organism that combat infection
Name the TWO parts of the immune system
Innate immunity
Adaptive immunity
What are the FOUR disease categories
Infection
Hypersensitivity
Autoimmunity
Transplantation
What are the FIVE core concepts of immunology?
Innate Adaptive Antigen specificity Lymphocytes Effector mechanisms
How is the innate immune system characterised? (2)
The response that we are born with is the same for everyone
The response never changes
What is adaptive immunity?
A learned response to antigens
Outline antigen specificity (4)
The part of the antigen peptide recognised by T lymphocytes is often hidden
Antigen must be broken down into peptide fragments
Epitope peptide binds to the MHC
T lymphocyte binds to the MHC/epitope complex
How do lymphocytes enable the adaptive immune response? (3)
Aids the recognition of antigens
Kills microbes
Remembers response
How do lymphocytes recognise antigens? (2)
B lymphocytes - directly binds antigens via antibodies on the surface of the lymphocyte
T lymphocytes - binds antigen peptide on the MHC molecule presented by denritic cells
What are the THREE life stages of lymphocytes?
Generation
Priming, replication and clonal expansion
Effector function
What is priming, replication and clonal expression?
Innate signals activating dendritic cells to present peptides onto the MHC resulting in T lymphocyte replication
How do B lymphocytes kill? (3)
Direct binding
Histamine
Phagocytosis
How do T lymphocytes kill? (2)
CD8 killer cells
CD4 helper cells which trigger an inflammatory response
