Immunology 2 Flashcards
Define antigen
Anything that causes an immune response, usually foreign material but can be our own tissues
Define hapten
A small chemical group that lone is non-immunogenic, but when attached to a larger carruer protein can act as an antigenic determinant and elicit antibody or cellular immune responses
Define carrier
Foreign proteins to which small non-immunogenic molecules (haptens) can be coupled to stimulate an immune response. Self proteins can serve as carriers
Define adjuvant
Any substance which , when mixed with an antigen, enhances the immune response to that antigen (common in vaccines)
What is the importance of antigenic drift and shift?
Allows variation and therefore improved immune response evasion. Pathogens exist as multiple strains
Describe antigenic drift
- Point mutations in DNA, lead to coding change in amino acid
- Subtle variation in protein structure
Outline the effect on immune response to a pathogen that has undergone antigenic drift
- Some antibodies bind to antigens which are unchanged, giving partial protection
- No antibodies recognise drifted epitope
- Therefore immune response is partially, but not fully protective
- Modulation of clinical signs as pathogenic particles are reduced but not cleared
Outline the process of antigenic shift
- Co-infection of 2 viruses which then exchange genetic material
- Reassortment of segments in genome between different strains of same pathogen
- Leads to dramatic changes in protein expressed
- change is radical
What are the consequences for the immune response to a pathogen that has undergone antigenic shift?
- Protein not recognised by antibodies
- Immune response not protective
In what situations is antigenic shift particularly important?
Where individuals live in close proximity
What are the consequences of antigenic shift and drift?
- Clinical disease more severe
- Multiple (consecutive) infections with the same pathogen
- Mild epidemic due to drift
- Pandemic due to shift
- Difficulty regarding vaccination
What are the different types of vaccine that can be used?
- Inactivated pathogen
- Modified live pathogen
- Immune stimulating complexes (liposomes)
- Individual purified recombinant proteins
- +/- adjuvants
What is the role of Th1 cytokines?
Enhance the cell mediated (cytotoxic) response
What is the role of Th2 cytokines?
Enhance differentiation of B cells into plasma cells and therefore the antibody (humoral) response
Name the antigen presenting cells
- Dendritic cells
- Macrophages
- B-cells
Which APCs are involved in the naive or the primed immune reponse?
- DCs involved in both
- Macrophages and B cells involved in primed only
Which APCs present to naive or memory T cells?
- DCs present to both
- Macrophages and B cells present only to memory T cells
What method of antigen capture is used by which APCs?
- DCs and macrophages use multiple methods
- B cells only by B cell receptor
What is the importance of the location of the lymphocyte regarding immune response development?
- Location and whether naive or primed cell dictates where the immune response develops and its speed
- Affects vaccines
- E.g. if vaccine given IM but the pathogen invades at mucosal surface, this is not ideal
Explain why the primed immune response is more efficient than the naive response
- In naive, DCs captre antigen, travel to local lymph node, where will then activate T cells
- In primed, antigen can be captured, processed and presented locally and efficiently e.g. by MALT
- Memory cells present in body, more sensitive to restimulation, produce cytokines more quickly = more efficient
What method of antigen capture do B cells use?
Binding to sIg and endocytosis (extracellular virus or bacteria)
What method of antigen capture do macrophages use?
Phagocytosis (but this is inefficient with soluble antigens. Extracellular)
What method of antigen capture do dendritic cells use?
Non-specific macropinocytosis and phagocytosis (efficient with soluble antigens from extracellular fluid)
Give the processing method, MHC restriction, predominant outcome and location of response for a vaccine consisting of an inactivated whole virus, administered IM
Processing: Exogenous
MHC: II
Outcome: Antibody response
Location: systemic
Give the processing method, MHC restriction, predominant outcome and location of response for a vaccine consisting of a live whole virus administered IM
Processing: endogenous
MHC: I
Outcome: cytotoxic T cell activation
Location: systemic
Give the processing method, MHC restriction, predominant outcome and location of response for a vaccine consisting of a viral vector encoding a single pathogen protein administered IM
Processing: endogenous
MHC: I
OUtcome: cytotoxic T cell activation
Location: systemic
Give the processing method, MHC restriction, predominant outcome and location of response for a vaccine consisting of ISCOMS administered IM
Processing: endogeous
MHC: I
Outcome: cytotoxic T cell activation
Location: systemic
Give the processing method, MHC restriction, predominant outcome and location of response for a vaccine consisting of recombinant, inert protein administered IM
Processing: exogenous
MHC: II
Predominant outcome: antibody
Location: systemic
Give the processing method, MHC restriction, predominant outcome and location of response for a vaccine consisting of live whole virus administered intranasally
Processing: endogenous
MHC: I
Outcome: cytotoxic T cell activation
Location: local (mucosal)
Give the processing method, MHC restriction, predominant outcome and location of response for a vaccine consisting of inactivated whole virus administered intranasally
Processing: exogenous
MHC: II
Outcome: antibody
Location: local (mucosal)
What are ISCOMS?
Immune Stimulating Complexes
Outline the veterinary relevance of antibodies
- Vaccine responses
- Diagnostics
- Immune mediated diseases
- Immunodeficiency
- Tolerance
- Protection of neonate via passive immune transfer
- Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies
- Monitoring for presence of disease
What immunoglobulins are present on B cells?
- IgM
- IgD
- Are attached to the surface
What immunoglobulin is secreted by plasma cells?
IgG
What are the 3 signals required for the activation of naive B cells?
- Binding of antigen to surface Ig and internaisation
- Molecular interaction with Th2 cells
- Costimulation by cytokines from Th2 cells
What does the presence of IgM indicate regarding the phase of the antibody response?
Indicates that the acute phase of antibody response is occuring
What happens to the B cell immunoglobulins once the cell is activated?
IgM replaced by IgD
What events occur in B cells following activation?
- Class switching
- Clonal proliferation
- Transformation into lymphoblasts then plasma cells
- Formation of memory cells
What cytokines promote the antibody synthesis by plasma cells?
Il-6, Il-11
What region of the receptor is altered in class switching?
Only the Fc region, antigen recognition is the same
Where are multiplying plasma cells found?
In germinal centres of lymph nodes
Where do the final stages of B cell maturation take place?
Ileal Peyer’s patches (ruminant and dog) or the Bursa of Fabricius in birds
Where does antigen presentation take place in the lymph node?
In the light zone of the germinal centre
Describe the appearance of plasma cells
- Typical acentric nucleus
- Basophilic
Outline the immunological characteristics of memory B cells
- More rapid Ab synthesis
- Increased Ag affinity
- Increased expression of MHC class II and co-stim molecules
- Interact with armed T cells at lower Ag dose
What determines the class of immunoglobulins?
The Fc region’s arrangement of carbohydrate groups
Which immunoglobulins can form multimers? hat is the benefit of multimers?
- IgM and IgE
- Improve binding to antigens and phagocytes