Immunity to Pathogens Flashcards
for a successful invasion of the host, the pathogen must overcome both the…
innate and adaptive immune responses
Innate immunity to viral infections is largely though the induction of?
Type I interferons (IFN-α and IFN-β)
How are IFN-α and IFN-β induced?
via Toll-like receptors (TLRs) that detect viral dsRNA in infected cells
what 3 things are induced by IFN-α/β receptor signaling?
- Mx proteins
- Rnase L
- Protein kinase R
What do Mx proteins do?
inhibit virus transcription and assembly
What does Rnase L do?
degrades viral mRNA
What does protein kinase R do?
blocks protein translation
What happens when IFN-α and IFN-β bind to the appropriate receptor on NK cells?
induces lytic activity
What further enhances the lytic activity of the NK cells in response to IFN-α and IFN-β ?
IL-12 produced by innate immune cells such as dendritic cells
What 4 methods does antibody use to contain the spread of viruses?
- block viral attachment to host cells
- preventing fusion of viral envelope with host cell membrane
- agglutination and opsonization
- activation of classical complement pathway
What occurs after antibody activates the classical complement pathway in terms of viral killing?
opsonization of viral particles by C3b and lysis of enveloped virus by the membrane attack complex
Cell-mediated immunity is responsible for eliminating viruses once…
cells have already become infected
What 4 things are involved in cell mediated viral clearance
- IFN-γ secreted by CD4+ Th1 cells and CD8+ CTL has direct antiviral activity
- CTLs target and kill virus infected cells
- NK cells are directly lytic for infected cells and also kill by ADCC
- Macrophages are activated by IFN-γ and kill by ADCC
What are 6 ways in which viruses can evade the immune response (briefly)
- evade action of IFN-α and IFN-β
- inhibit viral antigen presentation (3 ways)
- Constant alteration of viral antigens
- Modulation by capping and shedding
- Interfering with complement function
- Suppression of Antiviral immune responses (3 ways)
How do viruses evade IFN-α and IFN-β action?
by blocking or inhibiting the action of dsRNA-dependent protein kinase R
what are the three ways in which viruses inhibit viral antigen presentation?
- down regulating class I MHC
- Inhibiting TAP transporter
- Down regulating class II MHC expression on APCs
what are the two ways in which viruses can alter their antigens?
- genetic drift through point mutations in the genome
2. genetic shift through exchange of genetic material with viral reservoirs in other hosts
What are two examples of ways in which viruses can interfere with complement function ?
- production of a C3 binding protein that increase decay of C3 convertase
- inhibits alternative pathway - C4b binding protein that inhibits classical pathway