Immunology

Question 1

what is the function of the immune system? (2)

Answer 1

1. to defend the body against invading infectious organisms and abnormal cells
2. rids the body of damaged cells and debris

Question 2

is an immune response always helpful?

Answer 2

nope, can be helpful or harmful

Question 3

what is an antigen?

Answer 3

foreign molecule capable or inducing acquired immune responses

Question 4

what are leukocytes?

Answer 4

white blood cells, immune cells

Question 5

what is a lymphocyte?

Answer 5

an antigen-specific leukocyte

Question 6

what are antigen-presenting cells? (APCs)

Answer 6

cells capable of presenting antigens to CD4+ T cells

Question 7

what are the 3 lines of defense of the immune system?

Answer 7

1. physical barriers
2. nonspecific internal defenses
3. specific immune response (adaptive)

Question 8

what are the 2 physical barriers of the immune system?

Answer 8

1. the skin
2. mucous membranes

Question 9

give 5 nonspecific internal defenses of the immune system

Answer 9

1. phagocytosis
2. natural killer (NK) cells
3. inflammation
4. fever
5. other

Question 10

what are the 2 arms of the specific/adaptive immune response?

Answer 10

1. cell-mediated (T cell)
2. humoral (B cell)

Question 11

what is the goal of vaccines?

Answer 11

to activate adaptive immunity

Question 12

what is the lymphatic system?

Answer 12

a secondary circulatory system that drains extracellular fluid from tissues

Question 13

how dooes the cardiovascular system relate to the lymphatic system and immunity?

Answer 13

cardiovascular pressure drives fluid into lymphatic system into lymph nodes where APCs hangout and sample all your shit before the lymph fluid is filtered back into the bloodstream; helps keep immune system robust

Question 14

what are macrophages?

Answer 14

large irregularly shaped cells

Question 15

what do macrophages do and how?

Answer 15

1. kill microbes by ingesting them through phagocytosis
2. the vaculose containing the bacterium fuses with a lysosome
3. fusion activates enzymes that kill the microbe

Question 16

when you get a cut, what happens? include cytokines, WBCs, APCs, antigens, lymph nodes, T and B cells

Answer 16

cytokines make vessels leaky so WBCs can follow cytokines to the damage; then APCs go to lymph nodes and present antigen to T and B cells to activate adaptive immune response

Question 17

describe cell-mediated adaptive immunity

Answer 17

involves production and activation of T lymphocytes (a type of WBC)

Question 18

give 3 general classes of T cells

Answer 18

1. CD4+
2. CD8+
3. suppressor T cells

Question 19

describe humoral adaptive immunity

Answer 19

involves production of antibodes (Ab) to antigens

Question 20

give 3 basic WBCs involved in humoral adaptive immunity

Answer 20

1. B cells
2. plasma cells
3. memory cells

Question 21

describe how humoral immunity is antibody dependent

Answer 21

an antibody is produced in response to an antigen

Question 22

what do vaccines represent with humoral immunity?

Answer 22

they are a “challenge” to retrain immunity

Question 23

what do plasma cells morph from? what do they do?

Answer 23

plasma cells morph from B cells and secrete antibody

Question 24

list and describe 5 functions of antibodies

Answer 24

1. neutralization: renders particle no longer pathogenic
2. agglutination: antibodies bind antigen and clump up
3. activate complement system: formation of membrane attack complex
4. stimulate phagocytosis: via opsonization
5. stimulate NK cells

Question 25

what do CD4+ T cells do? (2)

Answer 25

1. stimulate antibody production by B cells
2. stimulate activity of other T cell and macrophages
   (the conductors of immune repsonse)

Question 26

what 4 kinds of cells do CD8+ T cells destroy?

Answer 26

1. self cells which contain antigens
2. cancerous cells
3. cells that harbor viruses
4. transplanted cells

Question 27

what do suppressor T cells do?

Answer 27

inhibit the activity of both T and B cells

Question 28

what are CD8+ T cells?

Answer 28

effector T cells whose purpose is to attack self cells that harbor intracellular infections

Question 29

what do CD8+ T cells do?

Answer 29

recognize self-cells through MHC Class I molecules presenting foreign peptides

Question 30

what do innate mechanisms of the immune system do?

Answer 30

function non-specifically to block establishment of an infection

Question 31

what do adaptive mechanisms of immunity do?

Answer 31

specifically target antigens associated with a specific pathogen

Question 32

describe the immune mechanisms thata re invoked in a particular infection?

Answer 32

tailored to the site of infection and the type of pathogen being targeted

Question 33

what controls all immune responses?

Answer 33

cytokines