Innate Immune System Flashcards
What is the difference between infectivity and virulence?
Infectivity is ability to establish inside host
Virulence is ability to damage host
Define immune system?
Cells and organs that contribute to immune defences against infection and non-infections (i.e cancer/foreign objects). Differentiates between self-non-self
What is an infectious disease?
When a pathogen succeeds in overwhelming a host defence response to evade
What are 4 broad roles of the immune system?
Pathogen recognition
Containing infection
Minimising host damage
Memory for pathogens
4 characteristics of innate immunity?
Fast
Lack of specificity
Lack of memory
No change in intensity
4 characteristics of adaptive immunity?
Fast
Specific
Memory
Changes in intensity (same microbe 2nd time round much bigger immune response)
What are the roles of first lines of defence of innate immunity (2)?
Limit entry
Prevent growth
What are the 4 types of first line defence of innate immunity?
Physical
Chemical
Biological
Physiological
What are the three physical barriers?
Skin
Mucous membranes
Cilia
How do cilia help prevent infection?
Goblet cells secrete mucus catch pathogen cilia beat and mucus is coughed up. Upper resp tract has normal flora but lower resp tract should be sterile
What are the 4 physiological barriers?
Coughing
Sneezing
Vomit
Diarrhoea
What are 2 types of chemical barrier and name examples for each
pH
Skin 5.5
Vagina 4.4
Stomach 2-3
Antimicrobial molecules Gastric pepsin and acid Lysozymes IgA Mucous Beta - defensins
What do each of the antimicrobial molecules do?
Gastric pepsin and acid - kills most microbes
Lysozymes - breaks bacterial cell wall
IgA - in tears sweat etc prevents microbe binding
Mucous - trap to expel
Beta - defensins - antimicrobial peptides toxic for both gram + and -
What is the biological barrier made up of and where?
Normal flora:
Skin Nose/Pharynx Mouth/Upper respiratory tract GI - intestine GU - vagina
Are normal flora seen around internal organs? blood?
No No
Name some benefits of normal flora
Compete with pathogens for resources and attachment sites so reduces their ability to establish
Makes vitamins e.g. Vit K
Antimicrobial properties
Give some examples of normal flora of the skin (5)
Step pneumonia Staph aureus Staph epidermis Candida albicans Clostridium perfringens
What does opportunistic mean? How is Candida albicans opportunistic?
Means normally unharmful and at low numbers, if normal flora reduced e.g. with antibiotics may be given the chance to grow and cause pathology e.g. Thrush
Give some examples of normal flora of the nasal cavity (3)
Strep pnuemoniae
Neisseria meningitidis
Haemophillus species
What is first vs second line defence of innate immunity?
First - barriers to entry of pathogen
Second - cells that contain and clear infection
How can normal flora become pathogenic/pathology related to reduction in normal flora? Give examples
DISPLACEMENT of flora from normal location to another site - e.g. staph aureus or strep viridans
Reduced normal flora by antibiotics = pathogen can invade - e.g. cdiff
Increased flora to pathological level e.g. if host immunocompromised like AIDS - e.g. candida albicans
What is the most common cause of normal flora being displaced to another site?
Poor dental hygiene/dental work
Which patients would need antibiotic prophylaxis before dental work (4)?
HIV - immunocompromised
Asplenic/Hyposplenic
Damaged or prosthetic valves
Previous infective endocarditis
Give some examples of what causes a patient to be immunocompromised/deplete normal flora and therefore at risk of overgrowth of microbes e.g. candida albicans
HIV Diabetes Malignancy Chemo Antibiotics