Immune System Overview Flashcards
What are various agents that can cause disease/replicate inside of a host?
Viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites (protazoa, helminths), archaea, Prions
What are prions?
Abnormally folded protein form that form plaques causing entanglement of neurofibrils and interfere with synaptic transmission; cause bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cows and Creutz-feldt Jakob disease in humans
What defenses do we have against pathogens?
Physical barriers, chemical barriers, commensal microbiota, innate immune system, and adaptive immune system
Describe mucus
Viscous fluid Contains mucins (many glycoproteins) Prevent attachment of organisms Expulsion of organisms in respiratory tract and GI tract Flows in clearing infection
What cells are involved in the innate immune system?
Monocytes/macrophages (phagocytic, antigen presenting)
Neutrophils (professional killers, phagocytic)
Natural killer cells (killers)
Dendritic cells (phagocytic)
Complement system (form MACs)
What cells are involved in the adaptive immune system?
B cells (make antibodies) T cells
What are 4 major functions of antibodies?
Neutralization
Opsonization
Compliment activation
Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity
What are the types of T cells?
T helper cells
T killer cells
Regulatory T cells
What is the classical pro-inflammatory cytokine trio?
IL-1, IL-6, TNF alpha
What do cytokines (like TNF alpha) do?
Recruit fluid, cells, and molecules to site of infection
What is a cognate antigen?
What antibodies (B cell receptors) and T cell receptors are looking for their match to bind to = proliferation of T cells and B cells
What is clonal selection?
Making a certain kind of B cell on demand
What cells are antigen presenting cells?
Dendritic cells
Macrophages
B cells
Do T cells require antigen presentation for activation?
Yes
What are the 2 kinds of major histocompatability complex (MHC) proteins?
Class I
Class II