Immunology Flashcards
What are antibodies also known as?
Immunoglobulins
What are immunoglobulins produced by?
B lymphocytes
What are the 5 classes of antibody?
IgG IgA IgM IgD IgE
What is the most abundant antibody in the blood?
IgG
Which antibody has a dimeric form?
IgA
What is the 1st type of antibody produced during an immune response?
IgM
Which is the least well characterised immunoglobulin
IgD
Which antibody is produced in response to allergic reactions and parasitic infections?
IgE
What are cytokines?
A diverse collection of small proteins and peptides produced in response to antigens, inflammation or tissue damage
Give 3 examples of cytokines:
Interferons
TNF
Chemokines
What is the complement system?
A family of 30 proteins which are produced by the liver in response to inflammatory signals from infected tissues
Where and why are Acute Phase Proteins produced?
In the liver (hepatocytes)
In response to inflammatory signals
Give one example of an acute phase protein:
CRP
What is the function of natural killer cells?
Detection and killing of abnormal body cells
Are NK cells part of the adaptive or innate immune system?
Innate
Where do T and B cells originate from?
Bone marrow
Where do B cells mature?
Bone marrow
Where do T cells mature?
Thymus
What activates T and B cells?
Antigens
Which cells express humoral immunity? (T or B)
B cells
Which cells express cell-mediated immunity (T or B)
T cells
What do B cells do?
Produce antigen-specific antibodies
What do CD4+ T cells do?
Have a role in cytokine production
What do CD8+ T cells do?
Kill virally infected cells (also cancer cells)
What are neutrophils?
Phagocytic WBCs which contain neutrophil granules in their cytoplasm.
What are mast cells?
Sentinel cells which express toll-like receptors and store cytokines in granules.
What are monocytes(macrophages)?
Phagocytic cells which also express toll-like receptors which when activated can act on vascular endothelial cells via the cytokines produced
What are Dendritic cells?
Antigen-presenting cells which serve as the link between the innate and adaptive immune systems
What are eosinophils?
Similar to neutrophils but have a great amount of substances stored in their granules.
What are basophils?
Similar to mast cells in structure and function and also play an important role in inflammatory rections
Which is the 1st type of immune cell to respond to a site of infection?
Neutrophil
How do neutrophils kill organisms?
Toxic oxygen products followed by enzymatic digestion
What do mast cells have surface receptors for?
IgE, C3a and C5a
Which mediators do mast cells produce?
histamine, leukotrienes, platelet-activating factor and some interleukins
How do mast cells produce a local allergic response?
They release their chemical mediators into the surrounding tissues causing:
increased permeability of blood vessels
Contraction of smooth muscles
Increased mucous production
What happens when macrophages are stimulated by glucocorticoids?
They secrete a potent anti-inflammatory peptide which controls the extent of local inflammation
How do dendritic cells act as the bridge between the innate and adaptive immune systems?
They engluf invading pathogens and process the antigen material to present it on the surface to then travel into the lymphoid tissue to activate the adaptive immune response
Which immune structure is thought to pay a big part in the development of the late stage of asthma (granule proteins damage bronchiolar epithelium)
Eosinophils
Basophils produce histamine. What does this do?
Contraction of smooth muscle
Dilatation of capillaries
