TOPIC 6: Infection Flashcards
What is a bacterial cell wall made of?
- peptidoglycan
- polysaccharides held together by oligopeptides
What happens to Gram-positive bacteria under crystal violet?
turns blue
What happens to Gram-negative bacteria under crystal violet?
nothing, but absorbs pink from counter stain safranin
Describe the cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria
- thick layer of peptidoglycan
- one cell membrane
Describe the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria
- thin layer of peptidoglycan
- cell membrane and outer cell membrane
How does Gram-staining work?
- CV+ ions enter cell walls and Gram-negative outer membrane
- I- ions bind to and fix CV+ ions
- decolouriser disrupts Gram-negative outer membrane so CV+I- lost
- counter stain adds pink colour to visualise cells
How can bacteria obtain foreign DNA? (3)
- transformation: DNA taken up from environment
- transduction: bacterial DNA transferred by phages
- conjugation: DNA passed through cytoplasm in pills to another cell
How can bacteria cause illness?
- produce endotoxins
- release exotoxins which inhibit neurotransmitters
Why are viruses not living?
- non cellular
- can only reproduce using a host cell
Describe the structure of a virus
- protein coat (capsid) made of repeating protein units
- RNA or DNA
Describe the bacteriophage life cycle
- attach to host bacterium
- phage DNA enters and destroys host DNA
- viral genome synthesised
- new phages assembled
- phages released as cell lyses
What is the different between the lytic and lysogenic cycle?
lytic phages lyse immediately whereas lysogenic ones integrate their DNA and replicate with it until host conditions deteriorate
Describe the influenza virus life cycle
- docking to host receptor
- entry into host cytoplasm
- synthesis of viral components
- assembly of new viruses
- budding from host cell
How does the retrovirus life cycle differ to the influenza life cycle?
- RNA is transcribed into DNA
- RNA directly uses in protein synthesis
How do viruses cause illness? (3)
- destruction of cell during lysis
- hijack host cell’s protein synthesis to slow down metabolism
- toxins
Differences between non specific and specific immune system
- NS is non-antigen specific, specific is
- NS has immediate maximum response, S has a time lag between exposure and response
- NS makes no memory cells, S does
Examples of chemical barriers in the body (4)
- saliva, tears, mucus, lysozyme
- earwax
- stomach acid
- sebum on skin
Examples of physical barriers in the body (2)
- ciliated cells
- keratin
Examples of biological barriers in the body
- gut microbiome
- skin microbiome
What gives keratin its properties?
- disulphide bridges: insolubility and strength
- fibrous protein
What is cornification?
skin surface cells stop metabolic reactions and fill with keratin so nucleus and organelles disappear
Where is lysozyme found?
tears, saliva, mucus, human milk
How does lysozyme protect against pathogens?
hydrolyses glycosidic bonds in peptidoglycan which causes lysis of bacterial cells due to osmotic shock
Where are complement proteins?
circulate in blood as inactive precursors and activated when needed
What is chemotaxis?
attraction of phagocytes to sites on infection
How do cytokines work?
initiates intracellular changes in gene expression and transcription factors
How does interferon work?
produced by virus infected cells which induces resistance in unaffected cells by turning on genes for antiviral protection
How does inflammation happen?
- mast cells release histamines
- vasodilation in arterioles increases blood supply
- increased vascular permeability so plasma proteins reach site and cause swelling
- more WBC’s arrive to clear bacteria