Immunology 1 Flashcards
what are the 2 major functional divisions in immune system?
innate immunity and adaptive immunity
what is the “1st line of defense”
innate immunity
which immune system is less specific - each cell or molecule recognizes a range of targets
innate immunity
which immune system is genetically “hard-wired” - cells and molecular effectors don’t change during the lifespan of the organism
innate immunity
what immune system is activated when innate defenses are breached?
adaptive immunity
which immune system is highly specific - each cell or molecule recognizes a particular target
adaptive immunity
which immune system is genetically “changeable” - cells and molecular effectors change their germline DNA to produce unique receptors/effectors during the lifespan of the organism
adaptive immunity
What is an antigen?
a substance that can bind to a receptor of the adaptive immune system
what are the B-cell receptors that can be released from a B cell into the ECF called?
antibody
what is an immunogen?
a substance that can generate an adaptive immune response
what is an epitope?
the part of the antigen molecule where the antibody attaches to
what is a hapten?
a substance that can bind to an antibody, but CANNOT generate an immune response
what is a lymphocyte receptor repertoire?
the set of antigen receptors in a given individual’s immune system
Explain the clonal selection theory
in a pre-existing group of lymphocytes (both B and T cells), a specific antigen activates only its counter-specific cell, which then induces that particular cell to multiply, producing identical clones for antibody production
what does immature mean?
a cell that has not reached a point where it can become activated - usually refers to cells of the adaptive immune system
what does naive mean?
a mature cell that has not yet been activated - always refer to the adaptive immune system
what does activated or effector mean?
a cell (or a group of cells) that is currently an active participant in an immune response
what does anergic mean?
a cell that responds to receptor binding by deactivation of the cell - it “goes to sleep”
what does clone mean?
a group of effector T or B cells that express the same antigen receptor and are derived from the same parent cell
Naive B cells express antibodies on their surface, where they are called…
B cell receptors
B Cell receptors have …
2 light chains and 2 heavy chains, each with variable and constant regions
what region of the b cell receptors that are “shuffled” and that can bind to anitgen?
variable region
most antibodies bind to what?
protein antigens
recognized amino acid sequence can be either…
continuous and discontinuous
T cell receptor consist of?
2 chains 1 alpha, 1 beta, each with variable region and a constant region
important to note that T-cell receptor is never secreted - it is,,,
always stays attached to the membrane