Immunotoxicology Flashcards
final exam
role of neutrophil
bacterial, phagocytosis, inflammation
role of basophil
allergy, helminth infection
role of mast cell
allergy, parasitic infection
role of eosinophil
allergy, parasitic infection
role of macrophage
bacterial, phagocytosis, inflammation
role of dendritic cell
present antigen for immune response; bridge the gap between innate and adaptive immunity
role of b cells
antibody production; neutralize pathogens, allergy
role of t cells
protect from pathogens, destroy infected cells, produce CD4+ and CD8+ t cells
role of natural killer cells
tumors, infected cells
immunotoxicology
any adverse effect on the structure or function of the immune system, or on other systems as a result of immune system dysfunction
problems that can occur due to immunotoxicology
- immunosuppression: Impaired immunity → Enhanced susceptibility to infection
- immunoenhancement: Autoimmunity, Hypersensitivity, Chronic inflammation
what is azathioprine used for?
immunosuppressive agent used to treat diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and IBD
mechanism/effect of azathioprine
- pro-drug converted to active metabolite, 6-mercaptopurine (in liver)
- XO and TPMT convert it to an inactive metabolite that is cleared from the body
- active metabolite is structurally similar to purine bases, so incorporated into DNA and RNA, which causes:
- Strand breaks, inhibition of DNA
repair, inhibition of replication - Inhibition of B and T cell proliferation
- Induces apoptosis
adverse effect of azathioprine and what causes this adverse effect (mechanism)
Dose-dependent adverse effect caused by elevated concentrations of 6-TGNs – myelotoxicity
- 6-mercaptopurine is converted to 6-TGN by HPRT and GMP synthase, which can cause life-threatening pancytopenia (when too much)
- elevated 6-TGN can be due to and inherited TPMT deficiency (less inactivation of 6-MP)
- or when with allopurinol, which inhibits XO
what is clozapine used for?
anti-psychotic medication for schizophrenia when other meds don’t work
mechanism/effect of clozapine side effect
this occurs in a dose-independent manner (don’t know why this occurs):
- converted to nitrenium ion by MPO, which is highly expressed in neutrophils
- ion leads to GSH and ATP depletion, which leads to oxidative stress
- this leads to apoptosis and neutropenia (aka neutrophil depletion)
effect of tobacco smoke
- have both immunosuppressive and immunoenhancing effects
- causes lung inflammation by increasing the recruitment of innate cells, which then release more mediators (Th1/Th17/CD8+ T cells)
- also reduces macrophage ability to phagocytose and/or kill bacteria, making them more susceptible to respiratory infection
effect/mechanism of cannabis
- THCA (inactive) converted to THC (active) by heat
- binds to CB1 (in CNS) and CB2 (immune cells) receptors
immunosuppression - induces apoptosis, inhibits proliferation, suppresses pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-a, IFN-y, IL-2), and induces T regulatory cells
- this causes, T cell response to shut down and suppresses autoreactive T cells
which immune cells have the most to least CB2 receptors (at the mRNA level)?
- B cells
- NK cells
- macrophages
- monocytes
- PMN
- T cell
what are some chemicals in the halogenated aromatic hydrocarbon family? which is the most toxic?
- dioxin (TCDD) – most toxic
- PCDFs
- PCBs