Infection & Immunity Flashcards
What are pathogens?
Disease causing organism
What is the first barrier to pathogens?
Epithelia
What do the epithelia do when they come into contact with pathogens?
Produce cytokines and chemokines
What is the innate immune response?
Inbuilt immunity to resist infection.
What are the properties of the Innate immune response?
Non specific
No memory
Present from birth
What is the adaptive immunity response?
Immunity established to adapt to infection
What are the properties of the Adaptive immunity response?
Learnt by experience
Enhanced by second exposure due to memory
How is the importance of the innate immunity implied?
Rare to inherit deficiencies in innate immune mechanisms
Impairment of protection when deficiencies occur
What cells are involved in innate immunity?
Macrophage Neutrophil Eosinophil Basophil Mast cell
What is opsonisation?
Coating of a microorganism by antibodies to make it recognisable as foreign by phagocytes. So enhances phagocytosis
What coats bacteria to enhance opsonisation?
Fibronectin
What is the complement system?
Marks pathogens for destruction by covalently binding to their surface.
What are the cells of the Adaptive immune response?
T & B lymphocytes
