Microbiology Flashcards
What is the most common cause of sporadic encephalitis in the Western world?
Herpes Simplex Encephalitis
What does innate immunity comprise of?
1) Barriers
2) Interferon response
How do epithelial surfaces act as barriers to viruses?
They are covered with protective secretions that contain mucous and collectins which can act as decoy receptors
How done influenza virus neuraminidase gain access into the host?
Can enzymatically remove the decoy receptors from mucous, allowing the virus to gain access to the ‘real’ receptor at the cell surface
What are interforns?
Soluble cytokines that are secreted when the cell detects a foreign pattern
What are the different types of interferon?
Type I (IFN alpha and IFN beta ) IFN gamma (type II) IFN lambda (type III
What types of interferons are produced by all cell types
Type I (IFN alpha and beta)
What type of cell produce Type II interferons (IFN gamma)?
Produced by activated T cells and NK cells
What type of cells produce IFN lambda? (type III)
Produce by all cells but only acts at epithelial cells
What are the three major functions of type I interferons?
They are polypeptides secreted from infected cells
1) Induce antimicrobial state in infected and neighbouring cells
2) Modulate innate response to promote Ag presentation and NK but inhibit proinflammation
3) Activate the adaptive immune response
What triggers IFN beta induction?
IRF-3
What are plasmacytoid dendritic cells?
Specialist IFN alpha secreting cells. They express high levels of IRF-7 constitutuvely.
What do type II interferons signal through?
Different receptor- IFNGR
What receptors do type III interferons signal through?
IL28R and IL10B
- Mainly present on epithelial surfaces
How is self differentiated from non-self?
PAMPs are detected by PRRs
What are PAMPs?
Pathogen associated molecular patterns
What are PRRs?
Pattern recognition receptors
- Often sense foreign nucleic acid
Where do PRRs reside?
- Cytoplasm: RIG-I-like receptors (RLRs) and nucleotide oligmerisation domain receptors (NLRs)
- Endosome: Endosomal toll like receptors (TLRs)
What is interferon?
A soluble cytokine that is newly transcribed and translated as a result of PAMP recognition
- It is secreted from the infected cells and binds to specific receptors and signal activation of de novo transcription of hundred of Interferon Stimulated Genes (ISGs). These have various anti-viral effects
What does interferon induction involve?
Activation of the promotor of the IFN-beta gene in the nucleus of the infected cell.
What is the function of interferon?
- Is a ‘master regulator’ of the immune response
- Direct anti-viral effects: IFN beta binds to receptor, causing phosphorylation of the intracellular proteins, STAT-1, STAT 2
- These then form a heterodimer, translocate to the nucleus and via promotor binding activate transcription oF ISG
What are interferon stimulated genes?
They are synthesised in response to interferon and all have anti-viral effects
Give examples of interferon stimulated genes
- PKR
- 2’5’OAS
- Mx
- ISG15, ISG54, ISG56
- PML bodies
- APOBECs and TRIMs
- ADAR
- Serprine
- Viperin
- miRNAs
- Apoptosis
- Cell cycle arrest
What is Mx?
An interferon stimulated gene
- Is a GTPase with homology to dynamin
- Can form multimers which wrap around the nucleocaspids of incoming viruses