immunity Flashcards
What factors determine the outcome of an infection?
- virulence factors
- infectivity of pathogen
- Hosts immune system
What are the key features of the innate immune system?
- fast
- non specialised
- no memory
- always same intensity
- activates adaptive immunit via dendritic cells
What are the 1st and 2nd lines of defence against infections?
1st- physical barriers physiological barriers chemical and biological barriers 2nd- phagocytosis chemicals inflammation
Give 3 physical barriers
- skin
- mucosa (and lymphoid tissue)
- bronchial cilia
Give 4 physiological barriers
- diarrhoea
- vomiting
- coughing
- sneeezing
Give 2 chemical barriers
- low ph
Skin= 5.5, stomach= 1-3, vagina= 4.4 - antimicrobials
IgA in tears, saliva and mucosa prevent microbe binding
lysozymes in tears, sebum, sweat
mucus
beta- defensins on epethilia trap microbes
Give biological defences against infection
Normal flora at points of entry compete with pathogens, produce antimicrobials and synthesise vitamins
eg lactobactillus in vagina
Give some examples of pathogen entry due to failure of the 1st line of defence
Normal flora move
- breach skin (cuts, burns)
- fecal- oral
- faecal- perineal- urethral (UTIs)
- Poor dental hygene (from mouth to blood by gum cuts)
Normal flora overgrows when immunocompromised
- diabetes, AIDS, Malignant disease, chemo
Normal flora depleted by antibiotics
- C.Diff, thrush ect
What, on the pathogen, is recognised by what on the phagocyte?
the PAMP is recognised by the PRR on the phagocyte
Give some examples of PAMPs found on gram- and + bacteria and their corresponding PRR
gram+: peptidoglycans - TLR2 gram- lipopolysaccharide- TLR4 lipoproteins - TLR2
other than PAMPs, how can phagocytes recognise pathogens?
opsonins
Give 3 examples of opsonins
complement protein- C3b and C4b
antibodies- IgG and IgM
Acute phate proteins- CRP, MBL
What bacteria do not have PAMPs and so opsonisation is essential to defend against them?
encapsulated bacteria such as N. meningitis and Strep. pneumonia
Why does splenectomy put you at high risk of septic infections?
- Spleen is where majority of B cells are to filter blood and produce antibodies in repsonse to encountering pathogen
describe oxygen dependent and independent killing of bacteria
Oxygen dependent: - H202, O2•, NO, O• ect produced to kill bacteria by oxidation (more effective) Oxygen independant: - lysozymes - proteolytic and hydrolytic enzymes - lacterferrin, transferrin ect
What effect do Il-1, Il-6 and TNF-a have?
- in liver produce more CRP and MBL (for opsonisation)
- neutrophil mobilisation in bone marrow
- vasodilation, increase vascular permeability and adhesion molecule synthesis for inflammation
- increase body temp (pyrogenic acting on hypothalamus)
What do monocytes look like and what is their role?
- recuited at site of infection and differentiate into macrophages
- look like large cells, mostly made up of necleus that looks either like a fat horseshoe or two overlapping circles
What do neutrophils look like and what is their role?
- recuited to sites of acute inflammation by chemokines
- ingest and destroy pyogenic bacteria such as staph aureus an strep. pyogenes
- most aubundant WBC in blood
- creates the pus as die when phagocytose
- are light pink under H&E stain with 2-5 lobes to their nucleus