intro

Question 1

what is one of the major functions of the immune system?

Answer 1

protect the host from foreign microbial invaders that can occur across the whole body

Question 2

list the microbial invaders

Answer 2

viruses
bacteria
parasites
fungi

Question 3

how does the immune system recognize these microbes as foreign?

Answer 3

It looks for unique structures -antigens- at the macromolecular level (i.e. proteins, polysaccharide, lipids or nucleic acids) on the surface of or excreted by these microbes that it sees as foreign

Question 4

what are epitopes?

Answer 4

foreign antigenic structures

Question 5

what is another major function of the immune system besides protecting host against microbial invaders?

Answer 5

maintaining healthy microenvironment at the cellular level for all tissues and organs

Question 6

in order for the immune system to serve as scavengers to remove cellular debris during injury and minimize inflammatory response, what must it do?

Answer 6

immune system must be able to identify these cells as “self” or “non-self”

Question 7

what is the condition where the immune system is triggered to overreact to self-antigen leading to damage of tissues or the
development of lesions?

Answer 7

autoimmune disease

Question 8

how would we classify the immune system if it is impaired at birth that is genetically linked and permanent?

Answer 8

congenital/primary immunodeficieny

Question 9

what would the immune system be classified as if impairment occurs later in life?

Answer 9

acquired/secondary immunodeficiency

Question 10

what are the two possibilities if a host is exposed to an aggressive virulent infection agent that the body has never seen before?

Answer 10

1. The individual gets sick and dies.
2. The individual gets sick and recovers

Question 11

if an individual has recovered from a virus it has never encountered before, what does it mean that he has developed a resistance to that virus?

Answer 11

if he is re-exposed to that same virus again, he should not get sick or at most be slightly sick

Question 12

what is the dogma of immunity?

Answer 12

Antigen exposure drives the immune response

Question 13

true or false: not all animals (vertebrates and invertebrates) have an innate immune system

Answer 13

false

Question 14

what are the two type of immune systems that vertebrates have?

Answer 14

innate and adaptive

Question 15

what is the first line of defense for the host against foreign invaders and exists at birth?

Answer 15

innate/natural immunity

Question 16

what are the major characteristics of innate immunity?

Answer 16

-rapid (minutes-hours)
- relatively non-specific in its response to foreign invaders
- lower potency
- lacks the generation of a memory response

Question 17

what are the barriers of the innate immunity and provide examples

Answer 17

• physical (skin epithelium)
• cellular (neutrophils, dendritic cells, macrophages, complement, and NK cells)
• biochemical mechanisms (complement)

Question 18

what is the immunity that can recognize and react to a huge number of foreign antigens (pathologic and nonpathologic)?

Answer 18

adaptive/acquired immunity

Question 19

what are the major characteristics of adaptive immunity?

Answer 19

• specificity
• adaptability to changing antigen structure
• immunologic memory (anamnestic response)

Question 20

what is a downside to adaptive immunity compared to innate?

Answer 20

it’s slower

Question 21

what are the major components of adaptive immune response?

Answer 21

• cell mediated (T cells)
• humoral/antibody-mediated immunity (B cells)

Question 22

when does active immunity occur?

Answer 22

after the host has been exposed to antigen via a natural exposure or via an artificial exposure (i.e. vaccination)

Question 23

true or false: there is a time lag post post-exposure before immunity to arise

Answer 23

true

Question 24

when does passive immunity occur?

Answer 24

when the host externally receives antibodies against a specific microbe or product generated by another individual.

Question 25

what is the advantage of passive immunity over active?

Answer 25

passive is immediate upon transfer

Question 26

what is the disadvantage of passive immunity over active?

Answer 26

no immunologic memory generated, Once the antibodies are used or degraded the immunity
ceases

Question 27

what are classic examples of passive immunity?

Answer 27

maternal immunity that occurs in utero in
humans, in ovo in birds or postnatally via the suckling of colostrum in the veterinary species

Question 28

what is adoptive transfer/immunization?

Answer 28

involves the transfer of immune cells into the host

Question 29

where did the cells from adoptive transfer originate?

Answer 29

originated from the host and were manipulated in vitro outside of the host prior to a transfer back into the host.

Question 30

What is the difference between a pathogenic and non-pathogenic antigen?

Answer 30

non-pathogenic antigen: organisms that do not cause disease, harm or death to another organism. The term is usually used to describe bacteria

pathogenic: agent that causes disease to the host

Question 31

What are 4 examples of foreign antigens?

Answer 31

viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi

Question 32

What are the major cell types associated with the innate immune system?

Answer 32

NK cells
complement cells
neutrophils
macrophages
dendritic cells

Question 33

What are the major cell types associated with the adaptive immune system?

Answer 33

T and B cells