LAB 3 - Immune System - 1 Flashcards
• What is the immune system a defense against what?
bacterium, fungus, viruses
• What are the 3 broad categories of the immune system?
General Immunity, Adaptive Immunity, and Innate Immunity.
• What is the difference between the Category innate vs Category adaptive in Immune system Categories? - look into this question a little more from the book.
Difference: Innate: relies on a small set of receptor proteins binding to molecules absent from animals.
Adaptive: relies on an arsenal of receptors focusing on a certain type of molecule on a pathogen
What is the first lines of defense offered by the immune system which helps prevent pathogens from gaining entrance to the body?
the outer covering such as the skin, or a shell blocks entry by many pathogens.
What is a T-Cell in the Immune System?
T cells are a part of the immune system that focuses on specific foreign particles - T cells circulate until they encounter their specific antigen -
Functionality also includes responses to allergens and tumors. They maintain immune homeostasis in humans
Do T-Cells attack just any antigen?
No - they circulate until they encounter their specific antigen.
How does age factor within the Immune System?
Later in life, the functionality of T cells decreases, which adds to the dysregulation of the immune system and associated pathologies.
Macrophages, which are white blood cells that ingest antigens, don’t work as quickly as they used to.
What are Macrophages and what do they do?
They are the “big eaters” - they are involved in detection, phagocytosis and destruction of bacteria and other harmful organisms
What are the two types of Phagocytic cells in the Mammalian body?
Neutrophils and Macrophages
What are cytokines and what do they do?
They are discharged by Macrophages
but in essence, they signal molecules that recruit neutrophils to the site of injury or infection
