Pathogenesis Flashcards
Match the following terms to their definitions:
1) Primary pathogens
2) Opportunistic pathogens
3) Infection
A) Pathogen/parasite enters/begins to grow on a host. Does not necessarily imply overt disease
B) Cause disease in healthy hosts
C) Cause disease only in compromised hosts/following entry into unprotected sites
Primary pathogens: Cause disease in healthy hosts
Opportunistic pathogens: Cause disease only in compromised hosts/following entry into unprotected sites
Infection: Pathogen/parasite enters/begins to grow on a host. Does not necessarily imply overt disease
(T/F) Some microbes can enter a latent state during infection. This infectious organism cannot be found by culture.
True!
What is pathogenicity?
Organism’s ability to cause disease; it is defined in terms of:
1) Infectivity: how easily an organism causes disease
2) Virulence: how severe that disease is/the relative ability of a pathogen to cause disease
3) the specific GENETIC MAKEUP of the pathogen
(T/F) Ebola is highly virulent, whereas rhinoviruses are not.
True!
What is virulence?
The relative ability of a pathogen to cause disease.
Match the following terms regarding measuring virulence:
1) ID50
2) LD50
A) the amount of an agent that kills 50% of the animals in a test group
B) number of pathogen cells/virions required to cause active INFECTION in 50% of inoculated animals
ID50: infectious dose - number of pathogen cells/virions required to cause ACTIVE INFECTION in 50% of inoculated animals
LD50: lethal dose - the amount of an agent that KILLS 50% of the animals in a test group
If agent 1 has a LD50 of 10^4 and agent 2 has a LD 50 of 10^6, which agent is more virulent?
Agent 1 is more virulent!
Mortality is caused at a lower dose.
What is immunopathogenesis?
It is the “friendly fire” by our immune system reacting to a pathogen that causes major tissue and organ damage.
The term applies when the immune response to a pathogen is a contributing cause of pathology and disease.
To fully understand any infectious disease, researches must study both:
1) pathogenic mechanisms of the pathogen
2) disease symptoms caused by immunopathogenesis
The _________ ______ describes the route of transmission of an infectious organism.
Infection cycle
Discuss horizontal vs vertical transmission of a infectious organism:
Horizontal transmission: passage from one person or animal to another within the same generation. DIRECT/INDIRECT. Can be through fomites (inanimate objects) or through vehicles (ingested/inhaled materials).
Vertical transmission: passage from a mother to her fetus during pregnancy (transplacental) or brith (parturition)
Describe the steps of the infection process of pathogenesis:
1) Exposure to pathogens
2) Adherence to skin/mucosa
3) Invasion through epithelium (BREAK IN BARRIER)
4) Multiplication: growth and production of virulence factors and toxins
What is the disease process of the pathogenesis?
After multiplication (last step of the infection process), they can induce:
1) TOXICITY (toxins effects are local/systemic) or INVASIVENESS (further growth at original and distant sites)
which leads to:
2) Tissue or system damage
What are 5 portals of entry for infectious agents to enter the body?
1) Mouth
2) Respiratory tract
3) Conjunctiva and mucous membranes
4) Wounds, injuries, and skin lesions
5) Parenteral route (into bloodstream)
*infectious agents can enter the body through one or more of these depending on whats best suited to their mechanisms of pathogenesis.
To cause disease, all pathogens must:
How do they accomplish these goals?
1) Attach to our surfaces and tissues
2) Damage tissues to obtain nutrients and replicate
3) Avoid host immune responses
Pathogens employ VIRULENCE FACTORS, encoded by VIRULENCE GENES to accomplish these goals.
What are virulence factors?
Virulence factors include toxins, attachment proteins, capsules and other devices.
Virulence factors are bacteria-associated molecules that are required for a bacterium to cause disease.
Virulence in salmonella is through pathogenicity islands and _________ plasmids.
Resistance
(genes that direct invasion & promote systemic disease are on the islands)
REVIEW: How do we know that most pathogenicity islands have been horizontally transmitted via conjugation/transduction?
1) Unique GC/AT ratio
2) Codon bias
3) Flanked by inverted repeats
4) Found in only certain strains of species
What do microbes use for MICROBIAL ATTACHMENT?
1) Adhesins
2) Capsules
3) Fimbriae and pili
4) Flagella
Adhesins are ___proteins or ____proteins found on the ________’s surface that enable it to bind to the host cells.
Glyco; Lipo
Pathogen
*there are many different receptors coating both the pathogen and tissues where the bacteria/virus bind.
(T/F) Fimbriae pili are the same as conjugation/sex pili used for gene transfer. They also help bacteria to attach to specific host cells.
False!
Fimbriae pili are not the same as conjugation/sex pili used for gene transfer.
Fimbriae pili are hairlike appendages that bacteria use to attach to specific host cells.
Match the different types of pili to their definition:
1) Type I
2) Type IV
A) Involved in “twitching motility”. Produce a DYNAMIC attachment via assembly/disassembly. Grow from INNER MEMBRANE of many gram-NEGATIVE bacteria.
B) Adhere to carbs on host membranes. Produce a STATIC attachment and grow from OUTER MEMBRANE of gram-NEGATIVE bacteria.
Type I: Adhere to carbs on host membranes. Produce a STATIC attachment and grow from OUTER MEMBRANE of gram-NEGATIVE bacteria.
Type IV: Involved in “twitching motility”. Produce a DYNAMIC attachment via assembly/disassembly. Grow from INNER (& cross outer) MEMBRANE of many gram-NEGATIVE bacteria.
(T/F) Bacteria also possess adhesins that are not pili.
True! They’re AKA nonpilus adhesins.
Why are some people susceptible to certain infections, whereas others are not?
1) Immunocompetence (capacity to see and eliminate danger)
2) Receptor availability (capacity to adhere to host cells)
Pathogens rely on __________ to recognize and attach to appropriate host cells.
Receptors (specific surface structures)
Is person-to-person differences in receptor structures possible? If so, give an example.
Yes!
Example: HIV binds C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5); individuals with a CCR5 mutation are resistant to HIV infection!