Topic 11: Antibodies, Anti body production, Vaccines, Antigens, Blood Clotting Flashcards
What is epidemiology?
The study of the distribution, patterns, and causes of disease in a population.
What is epidemiological data used for?
Used to help plan vaccination programs. Cases are monitored carefully to find out where further vaccination is required to give the population immunity and prevent further spread of the disease.
What was the first infectious disease to be eradicated by vaccination?
Smallpox, this was done by a worldwide vaccination program in the 1960s and 70s.
What do vaccines do?
Vaccines contain antigens that trigger immunity to a disease without causing the disease in the person who is vaccinated.
What do Vaccines contain?
Most vaccines contain a weakened or killed form of a pathogen.
How do vaccines work?
Vaccines are either injected or taken orally. The antigens in the vaccine cause the production of antibodies needed to control the disease. Sometimes two or more vaccines are needed to stimulate the production of enough antibodies. Memory cells produced as a result of vaccination should persist to give long-term immunity.
How does a first and second vaccination work?
The first vaccination causes a little antibody production and the production of some memory cells, the second vaccination (booster shot) causes a response from the memory cells and therefore faster and greater production of antibodies.
What are monoclonal antibodies?
Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies produced by hybridoma cells being cultured than extracted and purified.
How are monoclonal antibodies produced?
Plasma cells are fused with tumor cells to produce hybridoma cells, which divide endlessly to produce a clone of one specific type of hybridoma cell. The hybridoma cells are then cultured and the antibodies they produce are extracted and purified. Monoclonal antibodies produced this way are identical.
What are monoclonal antibodies used for?
Monoclonal antibodies are used in pregnancy test kits. The urine of pregnant women contains hCG (protein), which the monoclonal antibodies in pregnancy tests bind too, causing a colored band to appear indicating the woman is pregnant.
What are the stages of antibody production?
- Activation of T-Cells
- Activation of B-Cells
- Production of Plasma Cells
- Production of Memory Cells
What happens during the activation of t-cells?
Helper T-Cells have antibody-like receptor proteins in their plasma membrane to which one specific antigen can bind. When the antigen binds, the helper t-cell is activated. The antigen is brought to the helper t cell by a macrophage (type of phagocytic white blood)
What happens during the activation of b-cells?
Inactive B-cells have antibodies in their plasma membrane. If these antibodies match an antigen, the antigen binds to the antibody. An activated helper T-cell with receptors for the same antigen can then bind to the B-cell. The activated helper T-cell sends a signal to the B-cell activating it.
What happens during the production of plasma cells?
Activated B-cells start to divide by mitosis to form a clone of cells. These cells become active, with a much greater volume of cytoplasm. They are then known as plasma cells. They have a very extensive network of rough endoplasmic reticulum. This is used for synthesis of large amounts of antibody which is then secreted by exocytosis.
What happens during the production of memory cells?
Memory cells are B-cells and T-cells that are formed at the same time as activated T-cells and B-cells. when a disease challenges the immune system. After the activated cells and the antibodies produced to fight the disease have disappeared, the memory cells persist and allow a rapid response if the disease is encountered again. Memory cells give long-term immunity to disease.
What is the constant region?
The part of the molecule that aids in the destruction of the pathogen.
What are the five tactics used by the constant region to destroy the pathogen?
- Making a pathogen more recognizable to phagocytes so they are more readily engulfed.
- preventing viruses from docking to host cells
- neutralizing toxins produced by pathogens
- binding to the surface of a pathogen cell and bursting it by causing the formation of pores
- sticking pathogens together (Agglutination) so they cannot enter host cells and phagocytes can ingest them more easily.
Where are the antigen-binding sites?
The tips of the variable region.
How are unique surface molecules used?
- Viruses recognize and bind to their host using molecules on the surface of the host’s cells
- Living organisms recognize their own cells and cell types using surface molecules
- Living organisms recognize cells that are not part of the organism and also viruses by surface molecules that are not present in that organism (foreign). These molecules trigger the production of antibodies, so they are antigens.
Tuberculosis is an example of what?
Other pathogens can cross species barriers, can be transmitted from infected members of one species to uninfected members of another species. Tuberculosis can infect both cattle and badgers and pass in milk from cattle to infect humans.
Syphilis is an example of what?
Some pathogens are species-specific and only infect members of a single species. Syphilis only affects humans.
What are viruses?
Not living organisms, not composed of cells but have unique molecules on their surface.
What is the surface of a virus?
A protein coat called a capsid. The capsid of some viruses is enveloped in a membrane taken from the plasma membrane of the host cell.
What is the ABO blood system based on?
The presence or absence of a group of glycoproteins in the membranes of red blood cells.
