Immunology Flashcards
Why can most invertebrates clear infections but be soon susceptible again?
they have no immunological memory
Variola major
smallpox; ~50% mortality
Variolation
- China; dried & powdered smallpox scabs used to immunize people; blown into nasal passage; 1-2% mortality +inflammation
- knowledge traveled the Silk Road to the Ottoman empire (Turkey) and Africa; African slaves introduced it to American and Lady Monatagu saw from Turkey and brought it to England
- Edward Jenner; cowpox; no mortality + less inflammation
Types of vaccines
- Attenuated (living but weak); ex: cowpox
- Inactivated (killed whole pathogen)
- Subunit (parts or components of a pathogen)
Vaccination risks
- Anaphylaxis (allergic response); involves two or more body systems like hives and difficulty breathing
- Vaccine quality or handling errors
Reproduction ratio (without vaccination)
- Ro
- transmissibility
- # of new infections caused by each infected person
- if high number, pathogen is highly transmissible
- Ro < 1 = not an epidemic and infection will die out in population
- Ro > 1 = epidemic and infection will spread in a susceptible host population
Herd immunity
- the proportion of a population that needs to be immune to prevent pathogen spread (achieved by infection or vaccination)
- based on Ro
- proportion to vaccinate = 1-1/Ro
- the more easily transmissible, the higher the population proportion that needs to be immunized to prevent spread (more infectious = vaccinate higher proportion of population)
How do we determine Ro values?
Case tracing!
Viral entry routes
- Conjunctiva (measles, coronavirus, rhinovirus, influenza, herpes virus)
- Respiratory tract
- Alimentary tract; oral-fecal (poliovirus)
- Urogenital tract, Anus; sexually transmitted ( HIV, herpes virus)
- skin, scratch injury, contact w/ blood/secretions (Hep B, rabies, ebola)
- capillary
- arthropods (West Nile virus, yellow fever)
Physical and chemical barriers to infection
- mucus and intact mucus membranes
- enzymes in mucus, tears, and saliva (pH 4.5-6)
- acid in sweat and sebum
- acid in stomach (pH 2)
- antibacterial proteins and zinc in semen
- competition from commensal bacteria in gut and genital tract
Skin covers ~2 m squared whole mucous membranes cover …
~400 m squared
- thin, permeable barriers
- gas exchange, food absorption, reproduction
Mucus
- goblet cells: secrete mucus and traps microbes
- ciliary escalator: cilia push bacterial cells back up; bacteria trapped by mucous and coughed out or swallowed and killed by stomach acid
- mechanical removal: coughing, sneezing
T or F. Generally, areas of higher moisture contain higher populations of normal flora
T (respiratory tract and gut)
Microbial antagonism
normal flora inhibits colonization by pathogenic microorganisms through occupation of habitat and competition for resources
Define chemical barriers
enzymes that can degrade microbial cell walls in saliva and anti-microbial peptides (AMPs)
AMPs
part of innate immune system; can punch holes in microbe membranes; part of an ancient defense system (found in so many organisms)
where are ‘captured’ pathogens taken?
- to closest lymph node or to spleen (screens blood) where circulating lymphocytes transit to see if they recognize it
- lymph goes through lymph nodes for surveillance of tissues whereas surveillance of blood occurs by blood moving through the spleen
1st line of defense
skin, mucous membranes, chemicals, AMPs
2nd line of defense
phagocytosis, complement, interferon, inflammation, fever
3rd line of defense
lymphocytes, antibodies
Complement factors
assemble in the membranes of the pathogens or cell walls sometimes of the pathogen and these can punch holes in the pathogens (rendering them unable to infect)
Interferons
once released (when an innate immune cells recognizes a pathogen), alerts other immune cells (whether innate or adaptive) that there is infection in an are! Can lead to recruitment of other cells (innate or adaptive)
Fever
can be induced ; systemic response by a local infection; # of pathogens like LOWER temps …; increase temp in mucosal areas and something like flu doesn’t have a chance
Fundamentals of Innate Immunity
- protective mechanism BEFORE infection
- rapid responses encoded within the germline (DNA in egg and sperm cells)
- Responses are typically identical upon repeat infection
Lymphocytes that are already armed to take on pathogens without any kind of long-term stimulation
NK cells
Mobilizing bodily defenses at sites of infection
Inflammation
- vasodilation
- increase in capillary permeability
- influx of immune cells to affected tissues
Four signs of inflammation
- redness: vessels dilate and blood volume increases; allows a lot more of innate immune cells to be in this area ; when there is an infection, there will be signals that tell them to stop at a certain place and enter tissues at dilated capillaries!
- heat: increased blood volume brings warmth to affected tissues
- edema: swelling due to accumulation of fluid from blood in affected tissue
- pain: some inflammatory mediators trigger the pain response ; alters function
Evidence of inflammation
- Elie Metchnikoff (1800s)
- insult to star-fish larvae
- rapid localization of cells to site of insult
- breakdown of thorn by cells
- first observation of process known as phagocytosis
Mast cells
- first responders
- vacuoles with lots of enzymes that can be secreted to attack pathogens
Neutrophils
highly representative in blood; very often first to deal with pathogens; move towards higher concentration of chemicals where infection is at (chemotaxis)
Describe phagocytosis
After bacteria are recognized, cell membrane of neutrophils extend on either side of bacteria and bacteria are being bound by receptors on neutrophils and extensions of plasma membrane of neutrophil surrounds bacteria and ultimately, bacteria are endocytosed (membrane forms a vesicle around the bacteria that then parts way from PM and becomes an endosome)
-> phagocytic cells = lysosomes (from golgi); neutrophil has the endosome fuse with lysosome and contents of lysosome (enzymes) are released into the endosome and attack pathogen
THEN two fates: -> phagolysosome (lysosome plus endosome) will fuse with PM and secretion of garbage that’s left over (after the lysosomes degrade)
-> OR phagolysosomes simply degrades the components COMPLETELY ; and can come back and have further rounds of fusion
T or F. Phagocytosis is highly conserved throughout evolution
T
Examples of phagocytes
macrophages, monocytes, neutrophils
Phagocytosis process
- phagocytes detects and engages microbe
- microbe engagement initiates cytoskeletal rearrangements that drive phagocytosis
- the microbe is internalized in a phagosome
- phagosome fuses with lysosome = phagolysosome
- lysosomal enzymes destroy ingested microbes
- reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates destroy microbial proteins, genomes, and walls (Reactive O2 and N2 intermediates are very oxidative and attack various products of the microbe and render them useless and destroyed )
Macrophage development
- like all blood cells, macrophages arise from undifferentiated stem cells in the bone marrow
- some stem cells differentiate into short-lived monocytes that circulate in the blood
- inflammation recruits monocytes to sites of infection where they differentiate into resident macrophages
- resident macrophages are long-lived ‘professional’ phagocytes that ingest large amounts of extracellular material
Phagocytes don’t just eliminate microbes. They …
activate neighbouring cells through the release of cytokines and chemokines
Cytokines
secreted proteins that drive immune and inflammatory reactions
innate = cytokines are produced by macrophages and NK cells
Induce proteins in the endothelium that make the endothelium more adherent for passing leukocytes
Cytokines
Chemokines
large family of structurally related, low molecular weight cytokines that stimulate leukocyte movement and regulate the migration of leukocytes from the blood to tissues
T or F. Inflammation is always good!
F, NOT all inflammation is good - inflammation may not stop at the end of an immune response or injury = chronic inflammation; results in disorders
The first step in innate immunity
detection of microbes by resident cells
This triggers inflammation at the site of infection
Microbe engagement
These contain granules and can release them upon recognition of inflammation/pathogen
Eosinophil, Basophil, and Neutrophils
Primary APC for priming T cells
Dendritic cells
Immune response mediated by B and T lymphocytes to infectious agents and non-infectious molecules
Adaptive Immunity
Innate vs Adaptive Immunity
- detects common microbial structures vs vast repertoire of molecules
- receptors encoded in the germline vs receptors generated by somatic recombination
- same response upon repeat exposure vs improved “adapted” response to repeat exposure