Immunology Flashcards
What is inflammation?
Tissue damage initiates a set of vascular and cellular events that are designed to be able to clean up cellular debris, and infectious organisms and initiate repair.
What causes inflammation?
Physical trauma, chemical trauma, infectious organisms, sunlight and burns, and allergies.
What are the 2 divisions of the Immune System?
Innate (Natural) Immunity and Acquired (Adaptive) Immunity
How can you manipulate the immune system to prevent or treat human diseases?
- Immunization
- Anti-inflammatory and Immunosuppressive drugs.
- Cancer immunotherapy
What does cancer immunotherapy enables?
Immunotherapy enables the immune system to recognize, target and eliminate cancer cells, making it a potential ‘universal answer’ to cancer.
What are soluble factors?
They are factors which sense, either directly or indirectly, the potential threats and produce inflammation and cellular death.
What are the soluble factors of Innate Immunity?
- Cytokines
- Acute Phase Proteins
- Inflammatory Mediators
- Complement Proteins
What are the immune cells involved in Innate Immunity?
- Mast cells
- Natural Killer Cells
- Macrophages
- Dendritic cells
What is Innate Immunity?
It is a defense mechanism that is present from birth and is generally non-specific
What is the Acquired Immunity?
It is a defense mechanism induced by the presence of foreign or non-self material (including infectious microorganisms).
The response is unique to the specific substance or pathogen that induced the response.
What are the soluble factors of Acquired Immunity?
- Cytokines
- Antibodies
What are the Immune Cells involved in Acquired Immunity?
- B cells
- T cells
What are the four pathogens’ routes of entry?
- Digestive System
- Respiratory System
- Urogenital System
- Skin damage
What are the two routes of attack?
- Circulatory System
- Lymphatic System
Tell me the 6 barriers to infection
- Physical Barrier
- Traps
- Unfavorable pH
- Elimination
- Lysozyme enzyme
- Commensal bacteria
What are the physical barriers?
Skin and mucosal membrane lining in DIGESTIVE, URINARY, RESPIRATORY
What traps are there?
Mucous, cilia (Nose & Trachea), hair (covering body & in nose and ears), earwax
What Elimination barriers are there?
Coughing, sneezing, urination, and diarrhea
Where is the unfavorable pH?
Stomach Acid, sweat, saliva, urine
What do lysozyme enzymes do, and where can you find them?
It acts as an antimicrobial agent by cleaving the peptidoglycan component of bacterial cell walls (Digests bacterial walls), leading to cell death; Tears, and sweat
What are the four fundamental properties of adaptive immunity?
- Specificity
- Adaptiveness
- Distinguishing between self and non-self
- Memory
How long does Innate and Acquired immunity take to respond?
- Innate: Rapid response, mins-hrs
- Acquired: Slow response, days
Which tissue-resident innate immune cells recognize pathogens as non-self?
- Phagocytic cells (Macrophages and Dendritic cells)
- Mast cells
How are pathogens identified?
Pathogens express unique structures that are not present on/in human cells (PAMPs, pathogen-associated molecular patterns)
What does PAMPS stand for?
Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns
How do Innate Immune cells pick pathogens up?
They express partner receptors, Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs)
What does PRRs stand for?
Pattern Recognition Receptors.
Do non-immune cells also express PRRs?
Yes, intracellularly. To recognize if they have been infected by intracellular pathogens such as viruses.
Tell me the 3 modes of ingestion
- Pinocytosis: Ingestion of extracellula fluid surrounding the cells.
- Receptor-mediated endocytosis: Molecules bound to membrane receptors are internalized
- Phagocytosis: Intact particles are internalized as a whole.
What is an important step in Acquired Immunity?
Receptor-mediated endocytosis
What is opsonization, and what happens without it?
Opsonization is an immune process that uses opsonins to tag foreign pathogens for elimination by phagocytes. Without an opsonin, such as an antibody, the negatively-charged cell walls of the pathogen and phagocyte repel each other.
Three examples of opsonins
- C3b
- C-reactive protein (CRP)
- IgG/IgM
Tell me the seven steps of PHAGOCYTOSIS
- Macrophages express PRRs
- Receptor binding to PAMPs signals the formation of a phagocytic cup.
- Cup extends around the target and pinches off, forming a PHAGOSOME.
- Fusion with lysosomes to form a PHAGOLYSOSOME- killing pathogens and degrading contents through acidification.
- Debris (Including antigens) is released into the extracellular fluid
- Pathogen-derived peptides are expressed on special cell surface receptors (MHC-II molecules)
- Pro-inflammatory mediators are released
What phagocytosis is a specific form of?
Endocytosis
Which are the professional phagocytes of the immune system?
Macrophages, neutrophils, and immature dendritic cells.
Do parasites undergo phagocytosis?
No, they are too large
What do mast cells do?
- Degranulation: Release of pre-formed pro-inflammatory substances (e.g, histamine)
- Gene expression: Production of new pro-inflammatory substances (e.g, leukotrienes, prostaglandins)
What are the four pro-inflammatory mediators?
- Nitric Oxide
- Prostaglandins/ leukotrienes
- Histamines
- Pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNFα)
What three things inflammation promote?
- Vascular changes.
- Recruitment and activation of neutrophils (transendothelial migration).
- Bacteria produce chemicals that attract neutrophils to the site of infection.
What four changes are promoted in normal vasculature?
- Vasodilation and increased blood flow (rubor)
- Increased vascular permeability (swelling/edema)
- Expression of specific adhesion molecules on the surface of the endothelial cells.
- Activation of adhesion molecule receptors on circulating neutrophils
What are the five steps of transendothelial migrations?
- Margination of neutrophils to the endothelium near sites of tissues damage/infection
- Binding of neutrophils to adhesion molecules (selectins, ICAM-1) on the endothelial cells.
- Migration of neutrophils across the endothelium via the process of diapedesis.
- Movement of neutrophils within the tissue via chemotaxis.
- Activation of neutrophils by PAMPs and TNFα
What do neutrophils do?
- Phagocytosis
- Degranulation
- NETs
Which two distinct mechanisms do neutrophils kill internalized pathogens?
Phagolysosomal killing and ROS-dependent killing
What are the four steps of Phagolysosomal killing?
- Bacterium is phagocytosed by neutrophil
- Phagosome fuses with azurophilic and specific granules.
- pH of the phagosome rises, the antimicrobial response is activated, and the bacterium is killed
- pH of phagosome decreases and fusion with lysosomes allows acid hydrolases to degrade the bacterium completely.
What are the three steps of ROS-dependent killing?
- Neutrophil activation (PAMPs, pro-inflammatory cytokines)
- Assembly of the NADPH oxidase complex
- Production and release of ROS into the phagolysosome
What does ROS stand for?
Reactive Oxygen Species
What do neutrophils do in degranulation?
Release of anti-bacterial proteins from neutrophil granules directly into the extracellular milieu.
What happens when neutrophils degranulate?
- There is a direct killing of extracellular pathogens, bacteria, and fungi.
- Tissue damage and (potentially) systemic inflammation.
What are NETs?
Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are networks of extracellular fibers, primarily composed of DNA from neutrophils, which bind pathogens.
What is the Acute Phase Response?
The acute phase response is a group of physiological processes occurring soon after the onset of infection, trauma, and inflammatory processes. These include increased acute phase proteins in serum, fever, and vascular permeability. Metabolic and pathologic changes protect against tissue injury and promote tissue repair.
What is the acute phase response driven by? Give three examples
Pro-inflammatory mediators. Released by activated macrophages. TNF-alpha, histamine and C3a/C5a
What is the acute phase response mediated by?
Hepatocytes, these provide a variety of Acute Phase Proteins.
Examples of Acute Phase Proteins
- Complement System Proteins: C3 and MBL
- C reactive protein
Which cells produce and release cytokines called interferons (IFNα/β)?
Virally-infected cells
What do virally infected cells produce and release?
IFNα/β
What happens when cells pick up IFNα/β? (3)
- Signal neighboring uninfected cells to destroy RNA and reduce protein synthesis.
- Signals neighboring infected cells to undergo apoptosis
- Immune Cells are activated (e.g, NK cells)
What can Natural-killer do?
Recognize and destroy virally-infected and cancer cells.
Natural Killer cells attack normal healthy tissues and cells. True or false?
False. They ignore those and specifically kill infected cells and abnormal cancer cells.
What is the Complement System
It is a heat-labile component of normal plasma that augments the opsonization of bacteria by antibodies and allows antibodies to kill some bacteria.
What does heat-labile stand for?
One that is capable of changing or destruction when subjected to heat.
Where can inactive complement system proteins be normally found?
Plasma and extracellular fluids
When activated, what cascades of four chemical reactions does the Complement System promotes?
- Opsonization of pathogens
- Direct pathogen killing
- Acute inflammation
- Leukocyte recruitment
What are the other three plasma cascade systems?
- THE KININ SYSTEM
- THE COAGULATION SYSTEM OR CLOTTING CASCADE
- THE FIBRINOLYSIS SYSTEM
What does the Kinin System do?
It generates proteins capable of sustaining vasodilation and other physical inflammatory effects
What does the coagulation system do?
It forms a protective protein mesh over sites of injury
What does the fibrinolysis system do?
It acts in opposition to the coagulation system to counterbalance clotting and generate several other inflammatory mediators
Draw the overview of the Complement System
C3 ————–> C3b + C3a (Activation of downstream Complement proteins)
In the arrow, there are:
- Classical Pathway
- Mannose-Binding Lectin Pathway
- Alternative Pathway
Where are the complement proteins synthesized?
The liver then pushes it into the circulatory system, where they are inactive.
Describe the Classical Pathway
- Presence of a pathogen with antigens on its surface.
- IgG antibodies bind to these antigens.
- Complement proteins bind to the Fc function of the antibody (Order: C1, C4, C2, C3b, C5b, C6, C7, C8, C9)
- Proteases activate C3a and C5a.
- C3a and C5a are chemotactic agents; they enhance inflammatory response by chemotaxis.
- C5b, C6, C7, C8, and C9 can break off and form a MAC (Membrane Attack Complex) attached to the membrane of the bacteria. (H2O and Na+ flow in, and the bacteria undergoes LYSIS)
- C3b is an exposed protein and has become an opsonin attracting macrophages
- Macrophage’s C3b receptor binds to C3b and engulfs the bacteria.
What does C3 Convertase do?
Splits C3 into C3a and C3b
What does C5 convertase do?
Split C5 into C5b and C5a
What does MAC stand for?
Membrane Attack Complex
What does C3a and C5a do?
Enhance inflammatory response by chemotaxis.
Describe the Alternative Pathway
- C3b is so special it attaches directly to the antigen of the bacteria.
- More Complement proteins attach to C3b (C5b, C6, C7, C8, C9)
- C3a and C5a are released to enhance inflammatory response.
- C5b, C6, C7, C8, and C9 can break off and form a Membrane Attack Complex (MAC).
- Bacteria undergo lysis by the flow of H2O and Na+
- C3b is exposed, it is an opsonin, and it enhances phagocytosis.
What is there between C3b and C5b, and what does it do?
There is factor B/ BB protein and it contributes to the formation of C3/C5 convertases of the alternative complement pathway.
Describe the Mannose-Binding Lectin (MBL)
- Presence of a pathogen with expressed antigens.
- In this case, the antigen is called MANOSE.
- There is a protein within our bodies called Manose-Binding Lectin.
- Lectin binds to Manose, and the lectin pathway begins.
- A protein molecule that likes to bind to MBL is C4.
- More proteins bind to C4 (C2, C3b, C5b, C6, C7, C8, C9)
- proteases activate C3a and C5a to enhance the inflammatory response. - C5b, C6, C7, C8, C9 can break off and for a Membrane Attack Complex.
- Bacteria undergo lysis by the flow of H2O and Na+
- The C3b is exposed; it is an opsonin. Therefore it enhances phagocytosis.
- Phagocyte C3b receptor binds to C3b, and the phagocytes engulf the bacteria.
What can antigens be?
- Sugar molecules
- Protein molecules
- Glycoproteins
Who releases proteases?
The histamines
What immune system does the Complement System belong to?
Innate Immune System, therefore non-specific
What do C3a and C5a do?
Enhance inflammatory response by chemotaxis.
What is the difference between all the Complement System Pathways?
- Classical pathway is antibody-mediated
- Alternative pathway is where C3b directly binds to the antigen.
- MBL pathway is when Lectin directly binds to mannose (bacteria’s antigen)
Which are the two lymphocytes?
- B cells
- T cells
What do T cells divide into?
- CD4+ T cells
- CD8+ T cells
What are B cells responsible for?
These are responsible for humoral immune responses. They produce antibodies that attack pathogens circulating the blood and lymph. Plus, their key role is a defense against extracellular pathogens.
What are T cells responsible for?
Responsible for cellular immune responses, their key role in defense against intracellular pathogens.
What are CD4+ T cells responsible for?
They are the critical regulators of the entire immune system
-Activate B cells (TFH cells)
-Help macrophages (TH1)
-TH2 allergy promotes (IgE)
-T reg– Inactivate lymphocytes to prevent reactions to self-antigens.
What are CD8+ T cells responsible for?
They kill virally infected body cells.
What are the two types of recognition?
Non-specific and Specific
What is the B cell receptor?
An antibody
What are antibodies?
Proteins that bind to one specific antigen
What does the structure of an antibody have?
The complex of four polypeptide chain
-2x Light chain
-2x Heavy chain
What unique thing do antibodies have, and what does it do?
A unique variable region that binds to one specific antigen
Draw the structure of an antibody and label it
Check it.
Can antibodies bind to many different types of antigens?
Yes
Approximately how many copies of one specific BCR antibody does each B cell express?
50,000
What two forms are antibodies expressed in?
-Membrane-bound
-Soluble
B cells use membrane-bound antibodies as a receptor to recognize and bind to membrane-associated or soluble antigens. True or false?
True
What can the T cells only recognize?
They can only recognize peptide antigens
A single T cell expresses just a couple of copies of a single antigen receptor. True or false?
False! One can express thousands.
What does each T cell express?
A unique T cell antigen receptor that can bind to only one specific peptide antigen.
How do you describe a T cell antigen receptor? (TCR)
A membrane-bound protein heterodimer (A dimer made up of two similar but not identical subunits.)
What is a dimer?
A molecule or a molecular complex consisting of two identical molecules linked together.
Draw the structure of a TCR and label it
α/β TCR chains are the only two things.
What molecules are needed by the T cells to recognize peptide antigens?
MHC molecules are needed to present the peptide antigens to the T cells.
What are MHC molecules?
Stands for Major Histocompatibility Complex. They are glycoproteins encoded in a large cluster of genes located on chromosome 6
What are MHC molecules also referred to?
HLA- Human Leucocyte Antigens.
What is the MHC molecules’ job?
Display peptide antigens to T cells; they can present many different ones.
What are the two major classes of MHC molecules?
- Class I MHC
- Class II MHC
Where are Class I MHC molecules expressed, and do they present peptide antigens to what cells?
They are expressed in all nucleated cells
They present peptide antigens to CD8+ T cells
Where are Class II MHC molecules expressed, and do they present peptide antigens to what cells?
Expressed only on professional Antigen Presenting Cells (APCs)
-Dendritic cells
-Also, Macrophages, B cells
Present peptide antigen to CD4+ T cells
What does each T cell express?
A unique T cell antigen receptor can bind to only one specific peptide antigen.
Where do antigen-specific T cells and B cells develop?
In primary lymphoid tissues:
-Bone marrow
-Thymus
Where do adaptive immune responses occur?
In secondary lymphoid tissues
What are the secondary lymphoid tissues?
Lymph nodes (LNs), spleen, Peyer’s patches (PPs), and mucosal tissues- the nasal-associated lymphoid tissue (NALT), adenoids, and tonsils.
Mature, quiescent, antigen-specific T cells and B cells constantly re-circulate between different blood, secondary lymphoid tissues, and lymphatic vessels. True or false?
True.
Where do naïve T Cells and B Cells segregate?
Into different areas within secondary lymphoid tissues
How do B cells encounter antigens? Tell me the four steps
- Dendritic cells phagocytose pathogen-derived particles and antigens
- Pro-Inflammatory TNFa stimulates immature tissue-resident Dendritic cells to increase the expression of co-stimulatory molecules.
- Dendritic Cells digest ingested proteins and display small peptides derived from these on their cell surface.
- Dendritic cells enter the lymphoid tissue and present the antigens.
What two signals do B cells need to receive to become fully activated and clonally proliferate in response to protein antigens?
- Antigens
- Helping signals
What is the germinal center?
The germinal center (GC) is a specialized microstructure that forms in secondary lymphoid tissues, producing long-lived antibody-secreting plasma and memory B cells.
What do B cells differentiate into?
Plasma cells, to secrete antigen-specific antibodies
Initially, high-affinity antigen-specific IgG antibodies are secreted by short-lived Plasma cells. True or false?
FALSE. Initially, low-affinity antigen-specific IgM antibodies are secreted by short-lived Plasma cells.
Later, some B cells mutate to produce and secrete ‘better’ antibodies. Tell me the three steps.
- Switch from low to high-affinity antibody production. (IgM is the first antibody made against a pathogen. Somatic hypermutation selects for antibodies that bind more tightly to the pathogen)
- Switch the class of antibodies that they produce. (Switching antibody isotype to IgG allows delivery of the pathogen to phagocytes)
- B cells differentiate into Long-lived Plasma cells and long-lived memory B cells (Bm)
What is Somatic Hypermutation?
Somatic hypermutation is a process in which point mutations accumulate in the antibody V-regions of both the heavy and light chains at rates about 106-fold higher than the background mutation rates observed in other genes.
What three elements need to be present for the activation signals to occur?
- Low-affinity antibodies only
- Short-lived plasma cells only
- No memory (Bm) cells
What are the two activation signals for Non-protein antigens?
Signal 1: BCR + antigen
Signal 2: PRR + PAMP
What are the two activation signals for Antigens With Repetitive Antidenic Epitopes?
Signals 1&2: Multiple BCRs + Antigens engaged
What are the two activation signals for Protein Antigens?
Signal 1: BCR binding to antigen
Signal 2: Help from TH cells
Describe how antigen-activated B cells undergo clonal expansion and differentiation into antibody-secreting cells (Plasma cells) in secondary lymphoid tissues
Protein antigen bound to BCR is internalized by the B cell. The antigen is degraded, and peptides derived from it are presented on the B cell surface in a complex with MHC-II molecules.
Effector TFH cells move into the B cell zone of the lymph node, where they are re-stimulated by B cells in an antigen-specific manner.
Re-activated effector TFH cells stimulate the B cell to clonally proliferate and differentiate into long-lived plasma cells that secrete high-affinity antibodies (Germinal Centre reaction)
Re-activated effector TFH cells stimulate the B cell to clonally proliferate and differentiate into long-lived memory B cells (Bm cells)