Introduction Flashcards
What is immunology?
state of protection from infectious diseases
What is vaccination?
administration of an attenuated (weakened) strain of a pathogen to provide immunity against a disease
What is herd immunity?
vaccinating as many individuals as possible to prevent the spread of disease to susceptible individuals
What does immunity involve?
- hormonal immunity
- cell-mediated immunity
What is hormonal immunity?
the immunity derived from body humors (fluid)
What causes hormonal immunity?
immunoglobulins
What are immunoglobulins?
antibodies
What are antibodies a product of?
B lymphocytes
What are the two types of immunity?
passive and active
What is passive immunity?
transfer of immunity from one individual to another
Is passive immunity long term or short term? Why?
short term because it does not transfer cells
What is active immunity?
production of one’s own immunity
How is active immunity achieved?
by vaccination or contraction of disease
Is active immunity long term or short term?
long term
What is cell-mediated immunity?
immunity derived from T lymphocytes
What are T lymphocytes derived from?
the thymus
What are antigens?
any substance that elicits a specific response by B or T lymphocytes
What can antigens be?
pathogenic or non-pathogenic, self or non-self
What does pathogenic mean?
harmful to the body, causes disease
What are self antigens?
antigens within one’s own body
What should self antigens do?
they should not illicit an immune response
What are non-self antigens?
antigens that are not natural to one’s own body
What should non-self antigens do?
they will cause an immune response
What is clonal selection?
when a lymphocyte encounters the antigen it is specific for, the lymphocyte will rapidly divide to produce many clones of itself
What are pathogens?
organisms that cause disease
What are examples of pathogens?
- viruses
- bacteria
- fungi
- parasites
What does PAMPs stand for?
pathogen-associated molecular patterns
What are PAMPs?
common foreign structures that characterize groups of pathogens
What does PRRs stand for?
pattern-recognition receptors
What are PRRs?
recognize PAMPs
Where are PRRs found?
white blood cells
What is tolerance?
recognition of self-antigen and suppression of immune response
What do lymphocytes develop when they are developing?
diversity
How do lymphocytes have diversity?
each B and T lymphocyte will express many copies of a unique recognition receptor
What are the two types of immune systems?
innate and adaptive
When is the innate immune system fully developed?
at birth
What does the innate immune system do?
prevents infection and quick elimination of pathogens
What is the innate immune system composed of?
physical and chemical barriers
What are the physical barriers of the innate immune system?
skin and mucus membrane
What are the chemical barriers of the innate immune system?
mucus, saliva, sweat, tears, HCl
What do PRRs do in the innate immune system?
initiate release agents that kill microorganisms and initiate phagocytosis
What contributes to the innate immune system?
PRRs and complement
What is complement?
serum proteins that help eliminate pathogens
The innate immune response is _______
fast and nonspecific
What is the adaptive immune system composed of?
Lymphocytes
The adaptive immune response is _______
highly specific, so has a delayed response (5-6 days)
What kind of response is the adaptive immune system?
learned response
What does the adaptive immune response protect from?
protects upon subsequent exposure to same pathogen
How do cells communicate?
- cell to cell
- chemical messengers
How does cell to cell communication work?
cells close to each other
What are chemical messengers called?
cytokines
What is an example of a subset of cytokines?
chemokines
What do chemokines do?
recruit specific cells to sites of infection
What is immunological memory?
ability of immune system to respond more quickly and more efficiently upon secondary exposure to the same pathogen
What is immunological memory a part of?
adaptive immune response
What are the two responses of immunological memory?
primary and secondary response
What is primary response?
the first encounter with a pathogen
How does primary response occur?
- lymphocytes are clonally selected and clear pathogen
- majority of clonally selected cells become effector cells
- small subset become memory cells
What is secondary response?
subsequent exposure to same pathogen
What does secondary response utilize?
memory cells
What happens in secondary response?
cells respond immediately and clear pathogen before symptoms dvelop
What is the foundation for vaccinations?
secondary response
