Ch. 10 Flashcards
(62 cards)
Why can an organism in one host be a pathogen in another?
speculate it is because of disruption in the balance of normal microbiota and host factors
immune system recognizes our normal microbiota, but in some cases….
our immune system mounts a defense against our normal microbiota
examples of normal microbiota that can be also be opportunistic pathogens
Group B streptococci infections (doesn’t affect mother but affects baby). E. coli in the appendix that enters abdominal cavity, and weakened immune system allows yeast infections
tropism
capability of a virus to infect a distinct group of cells in the host. can limit spread of infection in some cases
Does tropism stay the same?
no it can change. 60-80% of new infectious diseases in humans emerged bc of expanded tropism. Ex: HIV, Covid
pathogenicity
ability of a microbe to cause a disease. all or nothing, so pathogen or not
virulence
degree or extent of disease a pathogen causes
what is virulence determined by?
microbe, host, and evolves over time
virulence factors
ways a pathogen is able to overcome host defenses like pathogen toxicity, transmission factors
attenuated pathogen
a weakened, less vigorous virus. can be used to make vaccines that can stimulate an immune response
why is virulence evolving?
because it changes in response to host factors as well as environmental factors.
Infectious does-50 (ID50)
- # of cells or virions in the case of viruses that are needed to establish an infxn in 50% of all exposed susceptible hosts
- more infectious = a lower ID50
- highly infectious does not mean more dangerous
lethal-dose 50 (LD50)
amount of toxin that’s needed to kill 50% of affected hosts that are not treated
LD50 and ID50 can change based on what?
species affected, human immune fitness, route of exposure (inhaled, injected, airborne)
toxins
small amount of molecules that generate a range of adverse effects. can cause tissue damage, suppress immune responses, etc
toxigenic
microbes that make toxins
toxemia
when toxins get in the bloodstream and spread throughout the body
endotoxins
can enter from localized or systemic infections. lipid portion, toxic to us and animals, released when gram-negative bacteria divide or die. if present in sufficient quantities, endotoxins causes septic shock.
the immune system and/or antibiotics kill gram-negative pathogens, which causes…
endotoxemia: endotoxins getting in the bloodstream
exotoxins can be what?
gram pos or gram neg
exotoxins are often classified into three main families based on their mode of action. what are they?
- type 1: membrane acting extracellular toxins. bind but don’t enter the cell (staph and strep)
- type 2: membrane damaging toxins. disrupt or destabilize the cell membrane. cell lyses (hemolysins)
- type 3: intracellular toxins. enter the cell to exert their effects (Pertussis)
toxicity level of endotoxins
lower (relatively high LD50)
toxicity level of exotoxins
higher (many have a low LD50)
5 steps to infection
- Enter the host
- Adhere to host tissues
- Invade tissues and obtain nutrients
- Replicate while warding off immune defenses
- Transmit to a new host