Topic 2 - Immunity Flashcards
What is a pathogen
A disease causing microorganism
How does an infection occur
If the pathogen gets into the host and colonises its tissues
How does a disease occur
When an infection leads to recognisable symptoms in the host
What is an epidemic
An outbreak of an infectious disease that spreads rapidly among individuals of a population at the same time
What is a pandemic
An outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exponentially high proportion of the population
What are the three lines of defence in the body to resist pathogens
To prevent entry
If this fails, phagocytes are sent to gather at the site of infection to ingest the pathogen
If this fails, the body targets that particular pathogen, in a specific immune response
What are the barriers of pathogen entry
The skin, consists of layers of dead cells filled with a tough protein (keratin) and oily secretion
Tears and saliva that contain lysozyme
Mucus which traps microorganisms and contains lysozyme
Acid in the stomach
How do pathogens enter the body
Through broken skins or via the lungs and intestines
What are 2 types of phagocytes at accumulate at the site of infection
Polymorphs and macrophages
What is the immune response, and what white blood cell does it involve
A specific response to the detection of pathogens in the body, involving lymphocytes
What is an antigen
A foreign or ‘non-self’ molecule that is carried on the cell-surface membrane of pathogens
What is a special protein receptor
A receptor carried on the cell-surface membrane of a lymphocyte, which is complementary in shape to a specific antigen
What are stem cells
Unspecialised cells that can give rise to a variety of specialised cells
Why is there no response to ‘self’ antigens
There are no lymphocytes set up to respond to the molecules of the individuals cells
What are the two specific types of Lymphocytes
B-Cells and T-Cells
What is the difference in where B and T cells mature
B-Cells continue maturing in the Bone Marrow
T-Cells mature in the Thymus
What immune response are B-Lymphocytes involved in
Antibody-mediated immunity
What type of immune response are T-Lymphocytes involved in
Cell-mediated immunity
What is the nature of the immune response in B-Lymphocytes
They secrete antibodies which counter the antigen-carrying pathogens
What is the nature of the immune response in T-Lymphocytes
They attack infected cells with antigen present on the membrane
How does a Lymphocyte become activated/ sensitised, and what do they do once they become sensitised
It comes into contact with a ‘non-self’ antigen, they divide by mitosis to clone and differentiate into a variety of cells
What are antibodies
Secreted material from the Cloned B-Cells involved in antibody-mediated immunity
What are immunoglobulins
Globular protein antibodies
What part of the antibody is specific to a particular antigen
The binding site
What are some ways in which antibodies can function
They may neutralise toxins produced by bacteria - antitoxins
Clump or agglutinate bacteria - agglutinins
Attaching to viruses to prevent entry to host cells
Destroy bacterial cell walls, causing lysis
Attach to bacteria, so phagocytic cells can identify them
What are the four steps in antibody mediated immunity
- Bacteria enters the body
- Bacterial antigen is recognised by the correct B-Cell with the complementary receptor
- The sensitised B-Cell divides by mitosis to produce plasma cells and memory cells
- Plasma cells produce antibodies, which destroy the bacteria
What are the 4 different types of cloned T-Cells
Killer T-Cells
Helper T-Cells
Memory T-Cells
Suppressor T-Cells
How do Killer T-Cells work
They destroy infected cells directly by attaching to the antigens on the surface of the target cell and realising preforin, which produces pores within the cell-surface membrane, resulting in lysis of the cells
How do Helper T-Cells,work
They secrete cytokines which promote the activity of other cells, I.e they stimulate B-Cells to produce plasma cells, and they activate Killer T-Cells
How do Memory T-Cells work
They stay in the body, so that if the antigen appears again, it results in rapid destruction of the cells with the antigen present