Immunity glossary Flashcards
What are agglutinins?
Chemicals that cause pathogens to clump together so they are easier for phagocytes to engulf and digest
What are cytokines?
Cell-signalling molecules that are produced in damaged tissues that attract phagocytes to the site of infection/inflammation
Where are cytokines produced?
Mast cells
What is inflammation?
Biological response of vascular tissues to pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants resulting in pain, heat, redness, and swelling
What are antitoxins?
Chemicals that bind to toxins (produced by pathogens) so they no longer have an effect
What are histamines?
Chemicals that make blood vessels dilate and the blood vessel walls leaky
Where are histamines produced?
Mast cells
What are interleukins?
A type of cytokine produced by helper T cells
What are antibodies?
Y-shaped glycoproteins made in the B cells in response to the presence of an antigen
What are B lymphocytes?
Lymphocytes which mature in the bone marrow and that are involved in the production of antibodies
What are autoimmune diseases?
Diseases that are the result of abnormal immune responses that attack normally present tissues
What are lysosomes?
Specialised vesicles containing hydrolytic enzymes for the breakdown of waste materials within a cell
What are B effector cells?
B lymphocytes that divide to form plasma cell clones
What are killer T cells?
T lymphocytes that destroy pathogens carrying a specific antigen with perforin
What are antigen-antibody complexes?
The complex formed when an antibody binds to an antigen
What are T regulator cells?
T lymphocytes that suppress and control the immune system, stopping the response once a pathogen has been destroyed and preventing an autoimmune response
What are lymphocytes?
White blood cells that make up the specific immune system
What are antigen-presenting cells?
A cell that displays foreign antigens complexed with major histocompatibility complexes on their surfaces
What are Phagosomes?
The vesicle in which a pathogen or damaged cell is engulfed by a phagocyte
What are T lymphocytes?
Lymphocytes which mature in the thymus gland and that both stimulate the B lymphocytes and directly kill pathogens
