MICROBIOLOGY- Immunity to microbial infection Flashcards
Name some antimicrobial factors present within the oral cavity
- Lysozymes
- IgA, IgM, IgG
- Defensins
- Histatins
- LL-37
What does lysozyme fo?
It cleaves the bond between the peptidoglycan layer and bacterial cell wall
This allows access for antimicrobial peptides to reach the bacteria
Name the most abundant class of antibodies present in our saliva
IgA
Describe host defence peptides (HDPs)
Short cationic peptides present in the saliva and GCD
Where are host defence peptides (HDPs) produced?
Produced from the salivary glands, leukocytes and epithelial cells
What does it mean when we describe a molecule as cationic?
It has an overall positive charge
Name the 3 main families of host defence peptides (HDPs)
- LL-37 (Cathelicidin)
- Defensins
- Histatins
What can host defence peptides (HDPs) do?
- They have direct bactericidal activity
- Antiviral activity
- They can recruit immune cells
- Can actuate immune cells
Name the 2 main families of Defensins
Alpha
Beta
Describe human defensins
They are short peptides with a conserved pattern of 6 paired cysteine residues and 3 disulphide bonds
Where is human Defensin found
Expressed widely throughout the whole body
For human Defensins to be activated what needs to happen
They need to be proteolytically cut to release the active molecule
Where are alpha defensins made
Produced by neutrophils
What is another name for alpha defensins
Human neutrophil peptide (HNP)
How many alpha defensins are expressed orally?
4
What encodes the 4 HNPs that are expressed orally?
3 defensin alpha gens (DEFA)
They are 29-35 amino acids Long
Name the 3 HNPs that are present in high abundance in the oral cavity
HNP1
HNP2
HNP3
What are the differences between HNP1, HNP2, HNP3
HNP1 and HNP3 differ by one amino acid only (they are the same length)
Removal of that one amino acid forms HNP2 (This means HNP2 is one amino acid shorter than the other 2)
How are alpha defensins stored?
In primary azurophil granules
What happens to alpha defensins in periodontitis
Found increased levels of alpha defensin
List some of the antimicrobial activities of alpha defensins
- Active in vitro against a range of bacteria including oral pathogens like S mutans, P gingivalis and A. actinomycetescomitans
- Active against Candida albicans
- Some antiviral activity
What is Morbus Kostmann?
A generalised neutropenia
What happens to alpha denfesins in a patent with Morbus Kostmann?
Alpha defensin levels decrease
What happens to alpha denfesins in an edentulous patient?
Alpha defensin levels decrease
Other than antimicrobial activity what else can alpha Defensins do?
They have an immune regulatory activity
List some of the immune regulatory activities of alpha defensins
- HNP1-3 are directly chemotactic for monocytes
- They can increase neutrophil recruitment
- Promote the induction of adaptive immune response through the activation of dendritic cells
How do alpha defensins increase neutrophil recruitment
- Increase CXCL-8 production
- Regulated cytokine expression increasing pro inflammatory cytokine expression
3, Inhibit anti inflammatory IL-10 - Induce mast cell degeneration (histamine release, vasodilation)
How long are beta defensins?
36-45 amino acids long
What are beta defensins expressed by in the oral cavity?
Expressed by cells of the :
- Gingiva
- Salivary glands
- Tongue
- Mucosa
- Epithelial cells
When is HBP2 expressed in the oral cavity?
All the time (expression is constitutive)
Where are HBD1 + 2 expressed?
Expressed within the differentiated epithelial cells layers SS and SG
Where is HBD3 expressed
Expressed within stratified basal layer
When is HBD expression increased?
In inflamed gingivae
What are HBD3s active against
Gram positive and gram negative bacteria including:
- P gingivalis
- S mutans
- A actinomycetescomitans
- F nucleatum
- T denticola
What are HBD2s active against ?
Gram negative and candida sp
What are HBD1s active against?
P gingivalis
F nucleatum
Which of the 3 HBDs is the most potent and which is the least?
HBD3 is the most potent
HBD1 is the least potent
List some immune regulator activities of beta defensins
- Expression of HB2 and 3 are increased by pro inflammatory cytokines
- Activate dendritic cells and T cells
- Chemo taxis
Other than bacteria what else do beta defensins target?
They have anti viral activity
List some of the antiviral activity of defensins
- Can target the lipid envelope
- Extracellular aggregation
- Receptor blocking/ down regulation
- Inhibition of fusion
- Blocking uncoating
- Cellular changes
Describe LL-37
Alpha helical structure
Name the only HUMAN member of the cathelicidin family
LL-37
Where is LL-37 present
Salivary glands
Saliva
GCF
What is LL-37 produced by
Leucocytes
Epithelial cells
How is LL-37 stored?
Stored as precursor hCAP-18 in secondary granules
When do levels of LL-37 increase?
Increased levels in GCF and saliva in periodontal disease
What bacteria does LL37 work against
- P intermedia
- P gingivalis
- F nucleatum
- S gardenia
- S sanguines
Other than anti bacterial activity what else can LL37 do?
- Autoaggregation of candida albicans
- Reducses candida binding to epithelia
- Promotion of wound healing
- Stimulates pro inflammatory responses
- Inhibits inflammatory responses to gram negative LPS
- Neutralises gram negative LPS
- direct chemo attractant
How does LL-37 stimulate pro inflammatory responses
- Stimulates epithelial cells to produce CXCL-8
2. Synergise with cytokines to enhance PBMCs responses
Why does p gingivalis cause inflammation
So that it can take proteins from the increased GCF flow and use that to produce toxins and cause damage
Name the three models we use to describe AMP insertion into lipid bilayers
- Barrel stave model
- Toroidal model
- Carpet model
What is the barrel stave model thought to be a model for now?
Model for perforin
Out of the 3 models which are most Likely to be the models for antimicrobial peptides (AMP) insertion
- Toroidal model
2. Carpet model
What is another name for the toroidal model?
Wormhole model
What does AMP stand fro
Antimicrobial peptide
What form in the toroidal model
Holes form
What is the carpet model based on
Based on the description of the lipid bilayer
Describe histatins
They are histadine rich
They are cationic and 7-38 amino acids long
They are madly amphopathetic
Where are histatins found
In the saliva
What are histatins produced by
Parotid, submandibular and sub lingual glands
Name the most prominent histatins in humans
Human histatin 1, 3 and 5
To which fungi do histatins have the most potency to?
Candida species
What are the activities of histatins
- Anti fungal
- Important in production of acquired enamel pellicle
- Important in wound healing
How do histatins affect candida species
They inhibit mitochondrial respiration
How do histatins help in would healing
They activate the migration of epithelial cells