5.2: Overview of Adaptive Immunity

Question 1

what are the 4 properties of the adaptive immune response?

Answer 1

1. Acquired
2. Specific
3. Memory
4. Tolerance

Question 2

what does the acquired property of the adaptive immune response mean

Answer 2

a pathogen must be encountered before the adaptive immune response is mounted (unlike innate which is always active)

Question 3

what does the specific property of the adaptive immune response mean?

Answer 3

Specific -can mount a directed attack against a specific pathogen
-immunity to one pathogen does not confer immunity to another

Question 4

what does the memory property of the adaptive immune response mean?

Answer 4

Once a specific pathogen has been encountered immune system cells multiply and produce long living memory cells
-if the pathogen is encountered again, the memory cells will mount a faster, stronger response (because the memory cell will be ready to go and there will be more of them)
-makes us immune to illnesses we’ve had in the past sometimes

Question 5

what does the tolerance property of the adaptive immune response mean?

Answer 5

• Inability to mount an adaptive immune response against self-antigens
• If an immune system cell recognizes a self-antigen, it is destroyed during development (of the immune response)

(since we have millions of immune cells with different receptors there’s a chance one of them has a receptor that matches antigen on the surface of our cells, but this response is not carried out)

Question 6

Primary immune response

Answer 6

• The first time a new pathogen is encountered, the adaptive immune response is weak (so it depends on innate response - macrophages and dendrites)
• the major result is the production of ** immunologic memory** (so next time you encounter it you have quick response)

Question 7

Secondary immune response

Answer 7

• The second time that a pathogen is encountered memory cells are ready to respond (more of them so they encounter the pathogen more quickly)
• response can be so quick that the pathogen is unable to cause disease
• so you become immune

Question 8

Immunogen

Answer 8

Any foreign particle that can induce an adaptive immune response
* normally large molecules -proteins, polysaccharides, some lipids (larger and stronger molecules need stronger adaptive response)

Question 9

which immunogen is strongest

Answer 9

• proteins

Question 10

Antigen

Answer 10

Any substance that can react with antibodies or receptors on adaptive immune system cells

stands for antibody-generator (causes generation of antibodies)

Question 11

antibody

Answer 11

protein made by immune system that can bind to, and inactivate foreign antigens.

Question 12

Epitope (or antigenic determinant)

Answer 12

• The actual part of the antigen that can bind to an antibody
• The more epitopes on an antigen, the more immunogenic it will be
• and a more diverse population of antibodies can be generated against it