Immunology - Innate and Adaptive Immune System Flashcards
From where are the cells of the immune system derived?
They are all initially derived from stem cells in the bone marrow, which differentiate into the various cell lineages.
How are immune cells primarily distinguished?
By the molecules that they express on the cell surface (markers). They are named using the CD system.
Which cell types are derived from myeloid stem cells?
Mast cells
Leukocytes
Phagocytes
Dendritic cells
Which cells types are derived from lymphoid stem cells?
Dendritic cells
Lymphocytes
Name the three types of leukocytes.
Basophils
Eosinophils
Neutrophils
Which cells are derived from monocytes?
Macrophages and phagocytes.
What are the different types of T cells?
Cytotoxic T Cells (TC)
Helper T Cells (TH)
What do B cells differentiate into?
Plasma Cells.
Which cell types are involved in the initial recognition of infection agents?
Lymphocytes.
What happens when an antigen binds to the antigen receptors on a lymphocyte?
The lymphocyte will start dividing.
Where do B cells develop?
Bone marrow.
Where do T cells develop?
Thymus.
At which stage in their development do lymphocytes move to the secondary lymph tissue?
Once they have succesfully expressed an antigen receptor on their surface and have been educated to weed out cells which recognise self molecules.
What is the structure of B cell receptor?
Immunologobulin formed of 2 identical heavy chains and 2 identical light chains.
What is the structure of the T cell receptor?
Two chains (α and β) of approximately equal size.
What is the difference between B and T cells in the way that they recognise antigens?
B cells use surface bound antibodies which recognise molecular shapes called epitopes that are present on intact molecules.
T cell receptors recognise fragments of antigens that are presented by other immune system cells.
What is the function of MHC molecules?
To present fragments of antigens to T cells.
How do T cells recognise that a cell is infected by a pathogen?
All cells sample their own internal proteins and place fragments of them on their cell wall. If a cell is infected, fragments of the pathogen’s proteins will also be expressed on the cell surface where they can be recognised by T cells.
Why is the immune response in the brain and spinal cord limited?
Because nerve cells are irreplaceable so it is better to live with damage to cells than to allow cytotoxic T cells to kill them. This is why nerve cells may remain chronically infected with viruses such as herpes.
Which CD marker is expressed by TC cells?
CD8.
Which CD marker is expressed by TH cells?
CD4.
What are the principle functions of TH cells?
TH1 - help phagocytes to destroy ingested pathogens.
TH2 - help B cells to make antibodies.
What are cytokines?
Generic term for secreted molecules produced by a wide variety of cells which act as signalling molecules.
Give some examples of cytokines.
Interleukins
Interferons
Chemokines
Tumour necrosis factors
Transforming growth factors
How do TH cells interact with phagocytes and B cells?
Signalling through cytokines.
What triggers a B cell to divide and differentiate into plasma cells?
Binding to an antigen and receiving the appropriate cytokine signals from a TH2 cell.
Where does the differentiation of B cells into plasma cells primarily take place?
Lymphoid tissues.
What do plasma cells produce?
Secreted form of antibody with an identical specificity to that of the original B cell, only lacking the part of the molecule that binds the antibody to the cell membrane.
What is the lifespan of a plasma cell?
A few weeks.
What is the function of Natural Killer cells (large granular lymphocytes)?
To kill tumour cells or cells which are infected by viruses.
What are the two main types of phagocyte?
Neutrophils and mononuclear phagocytes.
What are the three types of polymorphonuclear leukocytes? Describe their nucleus.
Neutrophils
Eosinophils
Basophils
The nucleus has several lobes.
What is the main function of neutrophils?
Antibacterial defence.
What is the main function of eosinophils?
Defence against parasitic worms.
What is the main function of basophils?
Control and development of inflammation.
Describe the lifestyle of neutrophils?
The make a one way trip from the bone marrow to the different tissues of the body and tend to congregate at sites of bacterial infection, being attracted by both the products released by bacteria and the cytokines released by immune system cells. They are a large component of pus.
What is the lifestyle of mononuclear phagocytes?
Some are mobile within tissues and other are fixed cells (e.g. Kupffer cells in liver).
Every tissue needs a permanent population of phagocytes to clear up debris and they may become activated in defense if the organ becomes infected.
How do macrophages develop?
Monocytes migrate out of blood vessels into tissues where they differentiate into macrophages.