Overview of The Adaptive Immune System Flashcards
What is the functions of the adaptive immune system
- More potent
- Specific
- Memory function
- less easy to evade
Why do we have an adaptive immunity
- Protection from and defence against pathogens
- Also role in malignancy surveillance
- Also linked to damage healing and repair
How are pathogens recognised
- Generic recognisable features - TLS, PAMPs
- Presence associated with damage
- Same pathogen is seen before
- If not self cells
How does adaptive immunity prepare for unseen pathogens
- Cells have receptors for all possibilities in hopes one receptor matches with a pathogen of interest
What is the problem associated with having a massive array of possibilities approach to immunity
- Can cause autoimmune responses against self cells
- Arthritis, MS
What is the primary purpose of the immune system
- Protection from and defence against pathogens
- The same pathogens often come back and attack again - Opportunity to have effectors ready which are specific and potent
- Some pathogens stop around - Need controlling by effectors
- The effectors are primarily lymphocytes
Give some examples of B cell deficiencies/ defects
- Congenital agammaglobulinaemia
- Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID)
- Novel biologics – Rituximab
Give some examples of T cell deficiencies/ defects
- Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID)
- DiGeorge syndrome -thymic failure
- Acquired – HIV / Chemotherapy / Novel biologics
Describe the multidimensionality model for defining lymphocytes
- There aren’t just different types of lymphocytes but also different dimensions
What dimensions are used to define lymphocytes
- Morphology
- Lineage
- Location
- Differentiation
- Function
How does adaptive immunity work
Has 2 key features:
- Specificity
- Memory
The pivotal role of clonal selection:
- One clone - one specificity
- Progeny can be expanded and retained
What is the basic principle of specificity for B cells and T cells according to the provided information?
- Defined by their antibody
- Ig for B cells and T cel receptors for T cells
What are the long-term protective mechanisms employed by both B cells and T cells, and how do these contribute to secondary immune responses?
- Continued production of antibody (B cells / Plasma cells)
- More rapid specific secondary responses (B and T cells)
Describe the structure of a B cell receptor
- Antigen-binding site
- Light chain
- Heavy chain
- Transmembrane region
What is required for T cell receptors (TCRs) to detect a peptide sequence from pathogens?
- Detect peptide sequence in association with MHC.
TCR doesn’t go fishing in the extracellular milieu, the pathogen peptides needs to be processed and presented to it
