Innate Immunity

Question 1

why is the innate immune system considered non-selective?

Answer 1

it will attack anything and everything it considers non-self as well as our own dead/defunct tissues

Question 2

why is the innate immune system fast?

Answer 2

does not distinguish between microbes

Question 3

what are pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPS)?

Answer 3

conserved patterns on foreign molecules
–on bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites (INVADERS)

Question 4

what are the five cardinal signs of inflammation and what do they mean?

Answer 4

rubor - redness
tumor - swelling
calor - heat
dolar - pain
functia laesa - loss of function

Question 5

what is the first stage of the local acute inflammatory response?

Answer 5

vascular

Question 6

what is the vascular stage of acute inflammatory response?

Answer 6

cells and proteins move through blood vessels and begin to collect near the site of inflammation
– vasodilation allows for blood to flow to the affected area

Question 7

what is the role of histamine in the vascular stage of acute inflammation?

Answer 7

causes endothelial cells to contract around the blood vessel, causing cells to shorten which leads to the formation of gaps between cells – vasodilation

Question 8

what is the second stage of the acute inflammatory response?

Answer 8

cellular

Question 9

what is the cellular stage of the acute inflammatory response?

Answer 9

leukocytes move into the tissue where inflammation is occurring

Question 10

what are cytokines and why are they released?

Answer 10

damaged tissues and resident immune cells release the chemical signals indicating damage has occurred

Question 11

what is diapedesis and why does this occur?

Answer 11

an immune cell “squeezing” through the vasodilated blood vessel to make it to the affected area – caused by chemotaxis

Question 12

what is chemotaxis?

Answer 12

chemokines are signal molecules that are released into the damaged areas - this causes immune cells (neutrophils) to migrate toward the signals

Question 13

what is C-reactive protein (CRP)?

Answer 13

synthesized by the liver and released into the blood, which makes it a good candidate for lab tests measuring systemic inflammation

Question 14

what are interleukins (IL)?

Answer 14

a type of cytokine

Question 15

what is tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a)?

Answer 15

a key enzyme in initiating and amplifying the inflammatory response

Question 16

what are prostaglandins?

Answer 16

cell-mediated inflammatory response initiated by the COX pathway

Question 17

what do NSAIDs and aspirin do in the inflammatory process?

Answer 17

block the COX pathway, which inhibits the production of prostaglandins

Question 18

what is the systemic inflammatory response?

Answer 18

overwhelming release of cytokines into the bloodstream
increased WBC production = systemic response

Question 19

what is the acute phase response of inflammation?

Answer 19

occurs within hours to days
-cytokines released from the liver

Question 20

where does temperature regulation take place in the brain?

Answer 20

hypothalamus

Question 21

why does someone developing a fever feel cold?

Answer 21

when the hypothalamus raises the thermostatic point, the body vasoconstricts the blood vessels and causes shivering to raise the temperature

Question 22

what is the response to breaking a fever?

Answer 22

sweat and vasodilation