Immune Therapies Flashcards
what is the most effective strategy to prevent infectious disease?
vaccination
how do vaccines work?
replicate immunity from natural infection without illness
- primary aim is to stimulate adaptive immunity and generate long-term immunological memory
what immune response occurs 0-12 hours after infection?
innate immunity
- inflammatory response
what occurs 1-7 days after infection?
adaptive immune response
- dendritic antigen presenting cells stimulate T cells
- effector T cell (clones) activate B cells
- B cells become plasma cells which produce highly specific antibodies
explain the induction of highly specific antibodies (to natural infection) via the primary response:
- low specificity IgM produced first
- high specificity IgG takes longer (requires T cell help causing lag)
explain the induction of highly specific antibodies (to natural infection) via the secondary response:
- high specificity IgG produced by long-lived plasma cells
- more rapid
- more effective
how do vaccines initiate the immune response?
by exposing our immune system to disease-causes microbial antigens (but without disease!)
- pathogen is modified making it unable to cause disease
what are the different types of vaccines?
- live attenuated
- inactivated
- subunit
- viral vector
what is a live attenuated vaccine? an example of this?
- live pathogen but weakened via genetic manipulations
- MMR, BCG
are live attenuated vaccines successful? when may they not be suitable?
- excellent life long immunity
- potentially pathogenic in immunocomprimised
what is an inactivated vaccine? an example of this?
- pathogen is killed through chemical or physical processes
- cannot replicate or cause disease
- Polio
are inactivated vaccines effective?
- safer than live vaccines but less effective
- weak immunity
- therefor several doses required
what are the different kinds of subunit vaccines?
- recombinant
- toxoid
- polysaccharide
- conjugate
what are subunit vaccines?
purified antigens (no live components or whole organism)
what are recombinant subunit vaccines? an example of this?
- contains the protein receptor that the virus uses to attach to our cells (to stimulate immunity)
- Hep B, HPV
what are toxoid subunit vaccines? an example of this?
- inactivated bacterial toxins
- Diphtheria and Tetanus
what are polysaccharide vaccines?
- contain subunit found on outside of encapsulated bacteria that helps it hide from our immune response
- T cell independent response
what are conjugate vaccines? an example of these?
- contains polysaccharide antigens linked to proteins (T cells & B cells involved)
- PCV/Men-C
alongside the pathogen source, what else is also found within vaccines?
Adjuvants
what is the function of Adjuvants?
specific molecules that enhance the immune response to vaccine antigens
in what type of vaccines are adjuvants most important?
- inactivated vaccines
- subunit vaccines
what are adjuvants composed of? how do these enhance immune response?
Aluminium/calcium salts
- maintain and prolong antigen stability
- enhance and prolong antigen presentation
- granuloma formation**
what are different routes of administrations for vaccines?
- intramuscular
- subcutaneous
- intradermal
- intranasal
what is the most common route of administration for vaccines?
intramuscular
by what rout of administration is the BCG vaccine given?
intradermal
what are corticosteroids? an example?
synthetic version of cortisol (stress hormone)
- prednisolone
what effect does cortisol have on the immune response?
dampens immune response
what is the function of corticosteroids?
non-specific anti-inflammatory function
- used to treat a wide range of inflammatory/allergic conditions
how are corticosteroids applied?
systemic or topical application
what are some of the side effects of corticosteroids?
- weight gain
- risk of infection
- risk of diabetes
- risk of hypertension
what type of drugs are NSAIDs?
COX-2 inhibitors
what is the function of NSAIDs? examples of these?
- reduce pain, inflammation and fever
- ibuprofen and aspirin
what are some limitations of NSAIDs?
- overuse can lead to gastro-intestinal bleeding, liver and kidney problems
- interactions with other medications (warfarin, methotrexate, diuretics)
what is an example of a DMARD? (disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug)
Methotrexate
what are some uses of methotrexate?
- used at high doses as a chemotherapy agent
- used at low doses to treat inflammatory arthritis
what are biological therapies?
genetically engineered antibodies made from human genes (monoclonal antibodies)
how do biological therapies work?
directly target specific components of the immune system to inhibit activity
- B cell inhibitor
- Cytokine blockers
what are examples of anti-TNF drugs?
- infliximab
- etanercept
how does Infliximab work?
by binding soluble TNFa and prevents it from interacting with receptor
how does Etanercept work?
binds and blocks TNF receptor (prevents cytokine binding)
