Intro to Immunology Flashcards
What are the most common sites of infection?
Skin and respiratory
What is the pathway for infection?
Exposure, adherence, invasion, colonization and growth, toxicity/invasiveness, tissue damage
What small molecules are secreted my skin and mucosa?
Defensins and cathelicidins
What do defensins do?
disrupt membranes of bacteria, fungi, protozoan parasites and viruses; intracellular toxic effects
What do cathelicidins do?
Disrupts membranes of bacteria; additional toxic effects intracellularly; kills cells
what part of the immune system to defensins and cathelicidins belong to?
Innate immune system
what is the charge and structure of cathelicidins?
Cationic, alpha-helical
How do defensins destroy bacteria?
wedging inside bacterial cell wall and ripping out pieces of the wall.
What is the structure of cytokines?
proteins/glycoproteins
What are chemokines?
large family of cytokines involved in attracting cells into inflamed tissues and play of role in leukocyte homing
What are interferons (IFNs)?
cytokines that important in limiting spread of viral infections
What are Interleukins (ILs)?
produced mainly by T cells (also macrophages, dendritic cells, epithelial cells), function by causing neighboring cells to divid and differentiate
What are colony stimulating factors (CSFs)?
involved in directing the division and differentiation of bone marrow stem cells and precursors of blood leukocytes. Controls how many and what kind of leukocyte is to be produced
What are tumor necrosis factors (TNFs)?
Particularly important in mediating inflammation and cytotoxic reactions
What are transforming growth factors (TGFs)?
important in regulating cell division and tissue repair
What is the pathway of the PLC pathway?
TCR –> PLCgamma1 –> calcineurin –> NFAT
What is cyclosporin used to treat? How does it work?
It’s an immunosuppressant that is used to treat both T cell mediated autoimmune disease and organ transplant rejection. Acts by blocking the fxn of calcineurin
How does the Ras/MAP pathway activate transcription?
Through AP-1
How does the PKC pathway activate transcription?
NF-kB
What is NF-kB transcription associated with?
proinflammatory and activation events
Describe the IL-1 family of cytokines?
Secreted early, stimulated in presence of foreign antigen, proinflammatory
Describe IL-1 signalling?
Works through TAK1 that then activates the MAPk and NF-kB pathways
What do receptors of hematopoietin (class 1) generally include?
Two types of proteins: immunoglobulin and fibronectin-like domain
What are the subfamilies of hematopoietin family cytokine receptors?
Gamma, Beta, gp130
What chains are involved in a strong hamtopoietin receptors?
gamma, beta and alpha
T/F: knockout of gp130 is embryonic lethal?
True
What cytokines interact with gp130 receptor?
IL-6 and IL-12