Lecture 1 Flashcards
Compare Innate and Adaptive immune responses in terms of speed, specificity, and memory
Innate Immunity:
works rapidly
has some (very little) specificity for common antigens but cannot distinguish between microbes
no memory
Adaptive Immunity:
works slowly
is highly specific
has memory (T and B cells)
what are immunogens?
antigens which can stimulate an immune response
“antigenic determinant” is another term for what?
“antigenetic determinant” is another word for an epitope (portion of an antigen)
True or False:
Each Ag has one specific epitope that can be captured and presented by antigen-presenting cells. explain
False
An Ag may have a number of different epitopes, which could all theoretically stimulate their own immune response (usually these epitopes are identifiable as coming from the same source, however)
Compare what Cell Mediated Immunity (CMI) and Humoral adaptive Immunity are controlled by.
CMI: is controlled by responses of T lymphocytes, which are Ag-stimulated, which often function in concert with Ag-presenting cells and phagocytes to kill microbes
Humoral immunity: (antigen-dependent) is controlled by the Development/maturation of B lymphocytes (effector B cells make antibodies)
What type of antigens is the CMI used to target? why is this important?
CMI attacks intracellular antigens (could be a cancer cell which isn’t a pathogen)
This eliminates reservoirs of infection (perhaps a cell filled with viruses) and kills cells that develop cancer
What exactly does an immune complex consist of?
an Antigen bound to an Antibody
give a general explanation as to how humoral immunity targets antigens
a specific and Mature B cell binds it’s cell surface receptors to an antigen.
Then effector B cells create antibodies for that antigen
Name 2 ways in which antibodies combat antigens
Neutralize the infectivity of the antigen by binding to it (sort of handcuffs it from freely conducting it’s infective processes)
Targets (opsonizes) extracellular microbes, and their toxins, for elimination via various mechanisms
Compare early innate and adaptive immune responses to pathogens
Early innate responses happen quickly and are much less specific, compared to adaptive responses (ex. phagocytes, unguided Natural killer cells, and blood complement pathways)
Adaptive immune response occurs over days to weeks and generates very specific receptors to battle the antigen (their efficiency is improved based on their memory of the antigen)
State the origin and properties (3) of Phagocytes
Originate in the bone marrow (arise from precursors that can also become mononuclear phagocytes)
properties:
destruction of microbes via phagocytosis and digestion
recruit cells to the site of infection (by secreting cytokines)
recognize activation of the immune system from microbes
State the properties of Mast cells, Basophils, and Eosinophils (treat them like one group for this flashcard)
they play a role in innate AND adaptive immune responses
The protect against helminths (multicellular pathogens) and allergic diseases
They all have cytoplasmic granules that are filled with various inflammatory and antimicrobial mediators (allows for their quick release rather than synthesizing them)
State the properties of Antigen-presenting cells (APC’s (there is a specific cell type to mention here)
B cells or resident tissue macrophages can function as APC’s but that is not their main function
Dendritic cells are a diverse group of professional APC’s that stimulate T cells to induce adaptive immune responses
What is the most abundant population of circulating WBC? describe it in terms of it’s appearance and what type of specific immune system response it is involved in.
Neutrophils and they have 3 to 5 connected lobules in their nucleus
12 to 15 micrometers in diameter
Involved in the earliest phases of inflammatory reactions
True or False:
All immunogens are antigens, however not all antigens are immunogens. Explain.
True
Some antigens do not cause an immune response and would therefore not be considered an immunogen
True or False:
All immunogens are antigens, however not all antigens are immunogens. Explain.
True
Some antigens do not cause an immune response and would therefore not be considered an immunogen
Name the origin of myeloid dendritic cells (mDC’s). Also name the 3 types of dendritic cells
mDC’s originate from monocytes
mDC’s
Plasmacytoid DC’s (pDC’s)
Langerhan’s cells (found in the epidermis of the skin)
Explain what immunopathology is
it is basically the “collateral damage” that can occur when there is an immune response to an antigen that damages the surrounding tissues (tissue remodeling occurs after this happens)
State what T cell receptors can recognize
T cell receptors can only recognize linear AA’s
Define Hapten
Hapten: a very small antigen that can bind to antibody, however it cannot initiate an immune response