Lecture 14 - Immunity to Bacterial I Flashcards
Describe the generic structure of the bacterial cell
Cell wall
Cell membrane
+/- Capsule
Intracellular constituents:
• DNA
• Ribosomes
• RNA
+/- Flagella
+/- Pilli
Compare Gram + and - bacteria
Gram +
• One plasma membrane
• Thick outer wall of peptidoglycan
Gram -
• Inner and outer plasma membranes
• Thin layer of peptidoglycan in between membranes
• LPS on outer membrane
Describe the components of bacterial cell walls
Peptidoglycan
Teichoic acid
What is another name for pilli?
Fimbriae
Made of protein
Describe the structure of LPS
Where is it found?
(Lipopolysaccharide) aka endotoxin
Present on the outer membrane of Gram -ve bacteria
Core glycolipid
• Outer and inner oligosaccharides
• Lipid A (anchors LPS in the lipid membrane)
O-specific polysaccharide chain
• Variable length
• Repeats
• Part that induces Ab responses
List some general features of immune responses to microbes
- Mediated by innate and adaptive immunity
- Distinct and specialised responses to different microbes
- Pathogenicity and survival of microbes influence by ability to evade immune system
- Latency can occur
- Tissue injury and disease can result from the host response against bacteria
Compare the features of extracellular and intracellular bacterial pathogens
Where do each reside?
Give an example each
Extracellular: • Evade phagocytosis • Reside in interstitial spaces, blood, lymph, or on epithelial surfaces • Non-invasive, toxin producers • e.g. E. coli, V. cholerae
Intracellular:
• Resist intracellular killing
• Reside in either cytoplasm or vesicles
• e.g. Salmonella typhinurium
List the general mechanisms of Ab against extracellular bacteria
• Neutralisation
- Preventing replication
- Preventing adhesion to / invasion of host cells
- Opsonisation and FcR-mediated phagocytosis
- C’ activation
- Phagocytosis of C3b coated bacteria
- Inflammation
- Lysis (MAC formation)
List some of the ligands on bacteria that trigger the C’ cascade
Which molecules are binding to these ligands on bacteria?
Gram -ve:
• LPS
• Proteins
• PS
Gram +ve:
• Phosphocholine
• Many proteins
Triggering molecules:
• C1q
• MBL
Give an overview of the pathways of C’ activation
- Classical
• Ab binds surface of pathogen and triggers C’ activation - Alternative
• C’ proteins bind directly to molecules on the pathogen - Lectin binding
• MBL binds sugars on the surface of microbes
Describe T cell responses to extracellular bacteria
CD4+ ‘helper’ T cell responses are most important
- Inflammation
• IL-17, TNF and other cytokine production - Macrophage activation
• IFN-γ production
• Increased phagocytosis and intracellular killing - Antibody response
• Help for B cells
Which components of the immune system fight against extracellular bacteria?
- Antibodies
- C’ cascade
- CD4+ ‘helper’ T cells
Which infections do people w/o Th17 responses suffer from?
Bacterial and fungal infections
Th17 produce IL-17 which is important for immunity against bacteria
Describe the roles of the various compartments of immunity against intracellular pathogens
- Innate immunity
• Stems spread of infection in early stages
a. Neutrophils
• IL-12 for NK cell activation
b. NK cells
• IFN-γ production for macrophage stimulation
c. Macrophages
• Phagocytosis of bacteria
• IFN-γ signalling from NK cells is crucial
- Adaptive immunity
• Needed for eradication of infection
a. Th1
• Help macrophages to clear the bacteria
b. CTLs
• Especially important against bacteria that escape into the cytoplasm
• eg. Listeria infections
• Perforin and granzyme dependent killing
Compare macrophages and neutrophils
Macrophages:
• Present in tissues
• Long lived
• Phagocytose bacteria
Neutrophils:
• Short lived
• Present in circulation
• Phagocytose bacteria
Are macrophages present in the spleen?
Yes, they are very abundant in the red pulp
How do macrophages recognise bacteria?
Various receptors: • C' receptors • C1q receptor • FcR • Mannose receptor • Scavenger receptors • PRRs
Describe the process of opsonisation and phagocytosis
- Opsonised bacterium:
• C3b and Abs on surface - Macrophage recognises opsonised bacterium
• C3b binds CR1
• Ab Fc region binds FcR - Triggering of phagocytosis
- Opsonised bacterium taken up into phagosome
- Lysosomes fuse with the phagosome to produce a phagolysosome, in which the bacteria are killed and degraded
Why don’t macrophages constantly bind Ab in the serum?
Need cross-linking of FcR for activation of the macrophage
This only happens when Ab are aggregated on a bacterium
Outline how macrophages and neutrophils kill ingested organisms
- Acidification
• pH 3.5-4.0 in lysosomes
• This is bactericidal or bacteriostatic - Toxic oxygen-derived products
• Superoxide, 02-
• Hydrogen peroxide, H2O2
• Hydroxyl radical, OH- - Toxic nitrogen oxides
• NO - Antimicrobial proteins
• Cathelicidin in macrophages and neutrophils
• α and β defensins in neutrophils - Enzymes
• Lysozyme
• Acid hydrolases (e.g. elastase) - Competitors
• Lactoferrin in neutrophils
Describe the action of lysozyme
Digests cell walls of some Gram positive bacteria