Exam Flashcards
What is anthrax?
An infectious disease that comes from ingestion of Bacillus anthracis endospores. This bacteria is gram pos and can survive for ages.
Exposure routes of anthrax:
Cutaneous- enters through cuts or abrasions. Will begin as a red spot, oedema will begin and dark spot will form.
Pulmonary- Woolsorters’ disease occurs by inhalation. Faster progression and death. Lesions occur in lymph nodes. Almost always fatal.
Intestinal- ingestion by eating infected meat or food
Injection anthrax- injecting spores accidentally, similar to cutaneous anthrax
Anthrax pathogenesis and molecular basis:
Pathogenesis: spores will enter and resist phagocytosis. Inside the cell, germination begins and the bacteria will form a capsule to prevent engulfment. Exotoxin will be produced
Molecular basis: expression of two virulence plasmids, pXO1 and pXO2. pXO2 encodes proteins for the capsule and pXO1 encodes 3 proteins for anthrax toxin- protective antigen, lethal factor and oedema factor
How is anthrax diagnosed and treated?
Bacteria will be isolated from blood or wounds and detected by nucleic acid test or gram stain.
Can be treated with antibiotics or drugs like Adefovir or Raxibacumab.
Bacteria features?
Single cell prokaryotes that have cell membrane and wall but no membrane bound organelles. Have circular chromosome and divide by binary fission.
How bacteria divide by binary fission:
Chromosome is duplicated, cell grows and chromosomes will separate. Cell will divide.
Which type of bacteria form endospores?
Gram positive
Types of gene transfer between bacteria and result
Antibiotic resistance could occur.
- Conjugation: transfer of genetic material by pili through a mating bridge.
- Transformation: foreign DNA inserts into host DNA from environment
- Transduction: genes from host insert into virus and are carried to another host
What are the features of a virus?
A subcellular particle that can’t multiply outside a host. Has a nucleic acid in a protein capsid that can be surrounded by a lipid bilayers.
Steps of viral infection and replication
- The outer part of the viral particle makes first contact with host cell membrane, attaches to a receptor.
- Virus will enter the cell.
- Genetic material is released into cytoplasm.
- Replication is done by using host enzymes.
- New viral particles are assembled.
- Viral particles are released. This can happen by budding off from the host cell membrane. Enveloped virus must leave the cell via budding.
Replication of positive and negative strand RNA viruses:
- A positive strand RNA virus has single stranded RNA with the same orientation as its mRNA, so the RNA can be directly translated through a ribosome.
- A negative strand RNA virus has single stranded RNA that is complementary to its mRNA and needs to be transcribed before entering a ribosome. Requires an RNA polymerase.
Features of fungi:
Eukaryotes with a chitin cell wall that cause opportunistic infections that can become systemic.
Types of fungal infections
- Superficial- grows on body
- Systemic- internal organs
- Subcutaneous- in nails or skin
- Cutaneous- epidermis, hair
- Opportunistic- internal organs
Define a parasite
Organism that lives in or on a host at their expense. Can be unicellular or multicellular
Define definitive and intermediate hosts
Definitive- harbors adult parasite. Hosts can be humans or animals. Mosquitoes are definitive hosts for malaria.
Intermediate- harbors larval form. Hosts can be insects like flies, mosquitoes, ticks. Molluscs can carry schistomiasis. In malaria, humans are the intermediate hosts
All about protozoa:
Single celled eukaryotes that can cause malaria, giardia, worms or toxoplasma. They have unique surface antigens at each stage of their life cycle (African Sleeping Sickness that mutates after immune system has attacked).
What are prions?
Host-derived glycoproteins that cannot be cultured, are incurable and resistant to disinfection. Can have a sporadic, genetic or acquired cause.
How do prions work?
We have normal proteins that express prion proteins. Coming into contact with an infectious prion protein can trigger conversion of normal protein into infectious protein. There is a snowball effect, plaques of protein form and become internalised in cells.
They do not trigger an immune response as they are protein.
Pros and cons of normal flora?
Prevents pathogenic species growth, helps develop immune system but there is potential to spread into sterile body parts when immunocompromised.
What are the different symbiotic associations?
- Commensalism- one organism benefits, no harm to host. Bacteroides in the large intestine ferment digested food
- Parasitism- one benefits at the others expense. Large intestine, entamoeba histolytica will feed on mucosa causing ulcers.
- Mutualism- both benefit. Rumen of cattle, bacteria will metabolise food to fatty acids and gases which can be used for energy.
Evidence of mitochondria evolution?
Eukaryote cells still have endosymbiotic bacteria. Mitochondria ribosomes are like prokaryotes. Mitochondria control their own division and have similar gene expression to prokaryotes. Antibiotics that affect ribosome bacteria also affects mitochondria ribosomes
Describe how lifestyle changes can affect host-parasite relationships
Altered environments like using air conditioning, food handling and production practices changing, routine use of antibiotics, use of immunosuppressive therapy (opportunistic infection), altered sexual habits, increased ownership of pets, increased journey to tropical countries.
What is in the innate system?
A nonspecific defense system. Has lysozymes, complement proteins, interferons, cytokines, phagocytes, granulocytes, natural killer cells.eosinophils
What is in the adaptive immune system?
Is targeted to deliver a specific response. Has a ‘memory’ of pathogens, making it effective upon reinfection. Utilises antibodies, cytokines, T (cytotoxic, helper etc.)and B (memory and plasma) lymphocytes.