Review of the Innate Immune System Flashcards
Why do we need an innate immune response?
Adaptive Immune Response is too slow to protect us from some new pathogens
Describe the speed of action of the adaptive immune response
Adaptive Immune Response:
Cytotoxic T cells activated for new infection after 3-4 days and Antibodies after 5 days
Sufficient for slow growing bacteria (may take upto 6 days) before they start replicating at a dangerous level by which time the specific immune response will be under way
Why is adaptive immunity not sufficient for Influenza?
Influenza replicates every 4hrs = produces thousands of products rapidly
- requires innate immunity to buy time for adaptive immune response to kick in
Which type of immunity is required to resolve infections?
Both adaptive and innate immune responses are required to resolve infection
How does adaptive immunity work?
Adaptive immunity involves very specific recognition of infectious agent (usually detects a protein = antigen)
Outline the specificity of innate immunity
Innate immunity involves recognition of broadly conserved features of different classes of pathogens (PAMPs)
- no specific antigen recognition
What are the components of innate immunity?
- Phagocytosis
- Inflammatory Response
- Cytokines, Interferons + Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs)
- Complement
- Intrinsic Defences – “the hostile cell”
- NK cells
Which immune cells carry out phagocytosis?
Carried out in vertebrates by Dendritic cells, macrophages and neutrophils
(monocytes, granulocytes, neutrophils)
What is the role of phagocytosis?
Phagocytosis clears pathogens but also presents peptides on MHCs – this promotes development/reactivation of the adaptive immune response
How do macrophages carry out phagocytosis?
Brief
Macrophages destroy material in lysosomes
How do macrophages trigger an inflammatory response?
- Captured material triggers macrophage activation
- Activated macrophages produce cytokines and chemokines
- Stimulates both innate + adaptive immune responses
- Inflammatory response triggered; can promote a local antimicrobial state
What is an inflammatory response?
Generic defence mechanism
- Localises + eliminates injurious agents
- Removes damaged tissue components
What changes occur during an inflammatory response?
- Enhanced tissue permeability + extravasation
- Neutrophil recruitment
- Enhanced cell adhesion
- Enhanced clotting
What 2 hormones do activated macrophages release?
Infected macrophage releases 2 types of polypeptide hormones:
- cytokines
- chemokines
How does the bloodstream aid inflammatory response?
Bloodstream supplies neutrophils and macrophages as well as normal RBCs etc.
Allows breakdown of capillary wall to allow more immune cells to get in to help break down pathogens
What are chemokines and cytokines?
Glycoprotein hormones that affect the immune response
Produced by activated macrophages
What is the role of cytokines?
Cytokines modify the behaviour of cells in the immune response
Interleukins (eg. IL-1)
What is the role of chemokines?
Chemokines = chemotactic factors
i.e. create concentration gradients which attract (or occasionally repel) specific cell types to a site of production/infection
How are pathogens recognised by phagocytes?
- Detecting phosphatidylserine on exterior membrane surface (cells undergoing apoptosis)
- By Scavenger receptors
- By some Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs)
- By passive sampling
(= by detecting PRRs)