Immunity and cell structure Flashcards
What are the two main immune defence mechanisms?
1) cell mediated response (T cells)
2) humoral response (T cells then mainly involves B cells)
Every pathogen will have specific NON-SELF molecules (usually proteins) that can…
help our cells to identify them (and distinguish them due to varying tertiary structures)
What do protein molecules on foreign material help our cells to identify?
- pathogens eg. HIV
- cells from other organisms of the same species
- toxins produced by pathogens
- abnormal body cells such as cancer cells
Explain what happens to the immune system during an organ transplant?
recognises the tissue/organ as non-self so attempts to destroy it
What can be done to prevent rejection in organ transplants?
administer immunosuppressive drugs
transplant from relatives who are genetically similar
Briefly explain the time lag between the body’s expose to a pathogen and its immune response to bring the pathogen under control.
- millions of lymphocytes in blood
- one lymphocyte has a surface protein that is complimentary to the surface protein on the antigen
- correct lymphocyte undergoes clonal selection and expansion
- time lag = time for clonal selection and expansion
Why is infection in the fetus are?
protected by the placenta
What happens to lymphocytes that show an immune response to slef natigens/
undergo programmed cell death (apoptosis) before they can differentiate into mature lymphocytes
sm random in the textbook
X
Name two type of white blood cell
phagocytes
lymphocytes
Explain phagocytosis
- chemical products of pathogens or dead/damaged/abnormal cells act as attractants causing phagocytes to move towards the pathogen
- phagocyte engulfs pathogen to form a vesicle called a phagosome
- lysosomes inside phagocyte move towards phagosome and fuse with it
- enzymes within the lysosomes called lysozymes destroy the ingested pathogen (eg. hydrolysis of cell wall)
- soluble, useful products from breakdown of pathogen are absorbed into the phagocyte’s cytoplasm
Define antigen
foreign protein that stimulate immune response and production of antibodies
What type of immune response is phagocytosis?
non-specific
Specific immune response (disadv, adv)
slower at first
can provide long term immunity
Define B cell
cells associated with humoral immunity that mature in the bone marrow and secrete antibodies
Define T cell
cells associated with cell-mediated immunity that are originally stem cells in the bone marrow and then migrate to the thymus gland to mature
What do T cells usually only respond to?
antigen present on a cell surface rather than antigens floating in the blood
Define antigen presenting cell
also called an ‘accessory cell’
cells that present foreign antigens from other foreign cells on their own cell surface membrane
Explain 4 ways T cells distinguish invader cells form normal cells.
(phagocytes, virus, transplant, cancer)
1) phagocytes have engulfed and hydrolysed a pathogen to present some of its (pathogen’s) antigens on its own cell surface membrane
2) body cells invaded by a virus present some of the viral antigens on its own cell surface membrane
3) transplanted cells have different antigens on their cell surface membrane
4) cancer cells present antigens on their cell surface membranes
Define cell mediated immunity
an immune response that does not involve antibody production.
A response where T cells respond to specific antigens on a cell, in turn activating other immune cells and the release of cytokines.
Response of T cells to infection by pathogen:
1) Phagocytes take up pathogen
2) Phagocyte become APC (places antigens from pathogens on its cell surface membrane)
3) T helper cell binds to these specific antigens on the APC to produce activated T helper cell which undergoes clonal expansion by rapid mitosis.
4) Active T helper cell:
- develop into memory cells
- binds to and activates cytotoxic T cell producing activated cytotoxic T cells and cytotoxic memory cells
- B cell becomes APC and active B cell binds to active T cell which caused it clonal expansion that produces memory B cells and plasma cells (these secrete antibdodies)
- stimulate phagocytes to engulf pathogens (phagocytosis)
Explain how cytotoxic T cells kill infected cells?
they produce perforin (a protein) that makes holes in cell surface membrane which then becomes freely permeable so the cell dies
Cytotoxic are most effective against killing viruses which are inside body cells as it prevents the virus from multiplying and infecting more cells
Which cells are involved in humoral immunity?
B cells
Explain what happens in a humoral response when a B cell responds to an antigen?
Millions of different types of B cells in the blood
One B cell has a ANTIBODY specific to the antigen on the pathogen where it’s shape is exactly complimentary
The antigen enters the B cell by endocytosis and gets presented on the surface. (APC)
T helper cells bind to the processed antigens and stimulate the B cell to divide by mitosis to form clones of identical B cells that all produce exactly the same antibody.
This is clonal selection and clonal expansion.