Immunology Flashcards
SLE
systematic lupus erythematosus, chronic autoimmune disease resulting in inflammation and tissue damage
Signs and symptoms of Lupus
painful or swollen joints and muscle pain, unexplained fever, rashes, chest pain when deep breathing, hair loss, Raynaud’s, sun sensitivity, edema, mouth ulcers, swollen glands, extreme fatigue
Malar rash
erythema, spares the nasolabial folds, photosensitive, can be transient
Discoid lupus
Can be part of SLE or by itself, 10% will develop SLE, coin-shaped scaly plaques, expand to form lesions with depressed central scarring, increase skin pigment around edge, anywhere on body
Cardiac manifestations of SLE
pericarditis, myocarditis, congestive heart failure, hypertension, coronary vasculitis, Libman-Sacks endocarditis, valvular insufficiency
First line of defense is
Skin
Cilia
sweep mucus into the throat for coughing or swallowing
Acid
swallowed bacteria are broken down by acids in stomach
Second line of defense is
WBCs
Third line of defense is
antibodies
Passive immunity
immunity from an external source, like antibodies through placenta
Active immunity
you produce the antibodies, exposed to antigen and fought off
FAB
fragment, antigen binding
Fc
fragment, crystalline
Monomer
Y-shaped molecule with 4 protein chains, 2 identical light chains and 2 identical heavy chains
Variable regions
2 sections at the end of Y’s arms, contain FAB, identical on same antibody, but vary from one antibody to another
Constant regions
stem of monomer and lower parts of Y arms
Fc region
stem of monomer only, can bind to complement or cells
IgM
produced as 1st response, levels remain high transiently
IgG
produced after IgM, higher levels in small amounts throughout life, produced in large amounts during secondary phase
IgA
neutralizes microbes and toxins
IgE
anaphylaxis, immunity to helminthic parasites
B cells are stimulated by
CD40, which is expressed on T cells
Plasma cells
mature B cells, produce high affinity antibodies against original antigen
T cells receptors
recognize pieces of antigen, antigenic peptides are presented to TCRs by antigen presenting cells like Macrophages or dendrocytes
What are the co-receptors for the TCR?
CD4 and CD8
Activated T cells increase expression of
CD25
CD8+ T cells
generated in the Thymus and express the TCR, express CD8, recognize peptides presented by MHC Class 1 molecules