Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

BS32009 > Immune System Overview > Flashcards

Immune System Overview Flashcards

1
Q

What’s the first line of defence of the immune system?

A

Innate immune system (nonspecific)
External barricades: skin, muscous membranes
Internal defences: phagocytes, antimicrobial proteins, attack cells
Chemical defenses

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is the second line of defence of the immune system?

A

Adaptive immune system (specific/acquired)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is skin?

A

An organ of tough keratinised epithelial membrane

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What are mucous membranes?

A

Line any cavity that opens up to the outside world; respiratory, digestive, urinary, reproductive tract

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

List 5 chemical defenses of the innate immune system

A
  1. Acid from skin, stomach, and vaginal secretions
  2. Mucin that forms mucus in the respiratory and digestive passageways
  3. Enzymes found in saliva, mucus, and eye fluid that fight bacteria
  4. Defensins, or antimicrobial proteins
  5. Chemicals found in sweat that destroy bacteria
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

3 internal innate defenses

A
  1. Fever
  2. Chemical signals
  3. Inflammation
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

The order of arrival of defensive cells

A
  1. Phagocytes (neutrophils and macrophages)
  2. Natural Killer (NK) cells
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Neutrophils

A

Most abundant type of white blood cell
Self-destruct after ingesting a pathogen
Dead neutrophils = pus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Macrophages

A

Made of monocyte white blood cells that have moved out of the blood stream to occupy tissues
Free type - patrol tissues
Fixed type - attached to fibres in specific organs (ie the Stellate macrophages in the liver)
Attaches to bacterium using cytoplasmic extensions, brings it closer and engulfs it, digesting it, and displays particles on its surface

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Natural Killer cells

A

Patrol blood and lymph looking for abnormal cells
Unique - can kill your own cells if they are infected with viruses or have become cancerous (know because the cell won’t contain MHC1). It then gives the cell an enzyme that triggers apoptosis

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is MHC1?

A

Major Histocompatibility Complex 1
Normal healthy cells contain this protein on their surface - pieces of endogenous proteins (proteins made within that cell)
If a cell is infected, it stops making this protein

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Strategy of the Immune Response

A
  1. Inflammatory repsonse
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What are symptoms of the inflammatory response?

A

Redness
Swelling (due to increased blood vessel permeability)
Heat (increases the cell’s metabolic rate)
Pain

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is histamine and what releases it?

A

Mast cells in connective tissue release histamine
Causes vasodilation
Causes increased permeability of blood vessels - causes nearby capillaries to release protein rich fluids (helps clot blood and build scabs, lymphatic system filters extra fluid, also allows phagocytes to enter inflamed area, and lymphocytes)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What are chemical signalling molecules of the inflammatory response?

A

Histamine (released by mast cells in connective tissue)
Fatty acid prostoglandins
Kininogen and other plasma proteins
Complement blood proteins
Cytokines

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What are lymphoytes?

A

Destroy pathogens
Clean up dead cell wreckage

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Leukocytosis

A

The release of neutrophils from bone marrow (where they’re made) into the blood stream
Inflamed endothelial cells and capillaries send out chemicals to attract neutrophils
Neutrophils stick to the capillary walls and squeeze through epithelial cells

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Monocytes

A

Arrive at the site of injury and transfrom into macrophages

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What are pyrogens?

A

Chemicals released by immune cells (neutrophils, macrophages, lymhocytes) that travel to the hypothalamus and raise body temperature (systemic fever)
Fever causes increased cell metabolism, and cause liver and spleen to hold on to all iron and zinc so it can’t contribute to bacterial growth

20
Q

Two types of growth of the adaptive immune system

A

Organic - touching germs on a doorhandle
Premeditated - vaccines

21
Q

What are the key differences between the adaptive and the innate immune system?

A
  1. Adaptive has the ability to remember specific pathogens
  2. Adaptive is systemic (innate is more local)
  3. Adaptive is specific
22
Q

What are the 2 defenses of the adaptive immune system?

A
  1. Humoral immunity
  2. Cellular defenses
23
Q

What is your humoral immunity?

A

Production of antibodies
Made by specialised white blood cells and patrol the body’s humors (fluids - ie blood and lymph)

24
Q

B Lymphocyte

A

Originates and matures in bone marrow
Maturing allows it to distinguish self from non-self
Develops immunocompetence and self-tolerance
When mature, displays at least 10,000 special protein receptors on surface (membrane-bound antibodies)
Each B lymphocyte has specific antibodies
Mature B lymphocytes then roam around in secondary lymphoid organs

25
Q

What is immunocompetence?

A

How to recognise and bind to a particular antigen

26
Q

List the secondary lymphoid organs?

A

Spleen, tonsils, lymph nodes

27
Q

What happens when a B lymphocyte binds to a pathogen it has an antibody for?

A

Upon binding the pathogen the cell becomes activated, and quickly starts multiplying
Most activated cells become effector (plasma) cells
Some become memory cells (allows for secondary immune response)

28
Q

How do effector (plasma) cells work?

A

Have extra ER
Mass produce the antibodies and release them into the humor at roughly 2000 antibodies per second for 4/5 days until the cells die

29
Q

What is opsonisation?

A

Free floating antibodies bind to antigens on pathogens and mark the cells for death

30
Q

What is neutralisation?

A

Antibodies bind to all available antigens on a pathogen, thereby blocking the pathogen from attaching to tissues

31
Q

What is agglutination?

A

Antibodies have more than one binding site, and can therefore bind to more than one antigen to form clumps which make it easier for macrophages to locate and ingest them

32
Q

Another function of antibodies

A

Antibodies call in phagocytes from the innate immune system and special lymphocytes from the adaptive system to destroy the antigen-antibody clumps

33
Q

Active humoral immunity

A

B cells bump into antigens and produce antibodies (can occur natrually or artificially)

34
Q

Passive humoral immunity

A

Infants get passive humoral immunity (antibodies) from their mother through the placenta and breast milk
Passive antibodies however, don’t live long, and don’t produce effector or memory cells
Can also acquire passive immunity by getting exogenous antibodies from the plasma of an immune donor (not the same as a vaccine, but can buy the patient some time)

35
Q

Cellular Immune Response

A

T lympocytes go after infected host cells

36
Q

What are the functions of T cells?

A

Causes inflammation
Activates macrophages
Recruits other T cells
Regulate much of the immune response

37
Q

What are Major Histocompatibility Complexes (class II)?

A

Bits of a pathogen that the cell has broken down can bind to MHC molecules and are now displayed on its surface
Done by both innate and adaptive immune cells

38
Q

What are Professional Antigen Presenting Cells?

A

Cells of the innate and adaptive immune system that present broken pieces of the pathogens that they’ve ingested

39
Q

Which cells are APC?

A

Macrophages, dendritic cells and B cells

40
Q

Where are T cells made and where do they mature?

A

Made: bone marrow
Mature: thymus (lymphoid gland on top of the heart)

41
Q

Helper T cells

A

Naive helper T cell has a receptor specific for an MHC class II protein + a specific antigen on an APC
If this matched, the two cells bind and the helper T cell is activated
T cell divides producing mostly other helper T cells, but also regulatory T cells and memory T cells
T cells release cytokines that when entering other T cells give them the signal to start dividing > some also help activate cytotoxic T cells

42
Q

Cytotoxic T cells

A

If cytotoxic T cells meet the correct specific MHC class II + antigen combination they bind
Release perforins (create pores in the cell) and granzymes (a protease) which leads to apoptosis

43
Q

Immunodeficiencies

A

AIDS (acquired immudeficiency syndrome) caused by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) attacks helper T cells

44
Q

Interaction between B and T cells

A

When a B cell has engulfed a protein and presented the antigen on its surface, a helper T cell checks if this is indeed a foreign body
If yes, the helper T cell binds and releases cytokines which fully activate the B cell
If not, nothing happens and no immune response is generated

45
Q

Regulatory T cells

A

At the end of infection, release inhibitory cytokines that tell other immune cells to stand down
A type of effector cell

46
Q

Autoimmune disorders

A

Multiple sclerosis - eats away at the myelin sheaths around neurons
Type 1 diabetes - destroys pancreatic cells that make insulin

BS32009 (8 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions