Properties of adaptive immunity Flashcards
Major characteristics of adaptive immune system
- Immense diversity of lymphocytes and receptors
- Self tolerance, lack of reactivity against an animal’s own molecules
- B and T cells proliferate after activation
- Immunological memory
What does the immunoglobulin gene (Ig) encode
One chain of the B cell receptor
How are new chains produced
Can be produced from the same gene using recombination of DNA
How are antigen receptors formed
The rearranged DNA is transcripted and translated
Specificity of b and t cells
Adaptive immunity is specialized immunity for particular pathogens
Origin of self tolerance
As lymphocytes mature in bone marrow or the thymus they are tested for self reactivity
What happens to t and b cells with receptors specific for their own body’s molecules
They are destroyed by apoptosis or rendered nonfunctional
What is the purpose of immunological memory
Long term protection against disease
Primary immune response
The first exposure to a specific antigen
What happens to t and b cells during the primary immune response
Selected t and b cells give rise to their effector forms
Secondary immune response
Memory cells facilitate a faster, more efficient response (more force, you may not even know you were affected by the pathogen again)
