Lecture 11

Question 1

What are the major local physical effects of inflammation?

Answer 1

• Redness
• Heat
• Swelling
• Pain

Question 2

What is a cytokine?

Answer 2

small soluble protein with the potential to induce major effects

Question 3

What is the two major functions of cytokines?

Answer 3

Communication between the leukocytes (e.g. T-cells and the B-cells) and communication between the leukocytes and other cells

Question 4

What are chemokines?

Answer 4

These are cell attracting cytokines

Question 5

How do chemokines function?

Answer 5

Produced in a gradient with the highest dose closest to the source. The attracted cell is mobilised towards the source

Question 6

Are chemokines and cytokines normally anti-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory?

Answer 6

Have the potential to be either inflammatory or anti-inflammatory

Question 7

What is a PAMP and give an example of one?

Answer 7

a pathogen associated molecular pattern. It is essential for microbial survival and/or pathogenicity. Examples could include double stranded RNA which is often a common intermediate of viral replication.

Question 8

What is the usual effect of a PAMP?

Answer 8

typically trigger inflammation and the formation of macrophages

Question 9

How do PAMP’s trigger macrophages to start inflammation?

Answer 9

• Toll proteins exist on the surface of cytokines and recognise many PAMPS
• Once binding of TLR (or another pattern recognition receptor) and PAMP occurs there is a cascade of events that signal the nucleus
• The whole process is about a series of cellular decision making processes

Question 10

What is the important immune defence outcome from this whole process?

Answer 10

Recruitment of neutrophils (and monocytes and dendritic cells)