Immunological Tolerance Flashcards
What are some common autoimmune disorders?
Multiple Sclerosis
Rheumatoid Arthritis
What is immunological tolerance?
Immunological tolerance means non- responsiveness to specific antigens. (different from immune suppression)
Is tolerance antigen specific? What does this imply?
Yes. It implies the involvement of T cells and B cells
What are the two downstream paths of TGF-beta mediated T cell development?
IL-6 positive Th17 response
IL-6 negative FoxP3 response
What is central tolerance?
This is based on elimination of T cells that are reactive to antigens present in the thymus—self antigens.
Central Tolerance is based around both
positive and negative selection -> leads to
a “medium” affinity
Why is peripheral tolerance necessary?
Central tolerance will not function in some cases where the Ag is unknown to be presented (pregnancy).
What cells are involved with peripheral tolerance?
Regulator T Cells
Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells
What is the function of regulator T cells?
They are professional T cells that are designed to impose suppression to other immune cells and are present under normal conditions.
What is the function of MDSCs?
A group of myeloid cells become potent immunoregulatory cells when exposed to inflammatory cytokines (e.g.IFN-gamma) and blocks T cell responses. Often tumor associated and only come about with inflammation or infection.
How are non-thymic self-antigen reactive cells eliminated?
AIRE is a transcription factor that is expressed mainly in the medulla of the thymus. AIRE induces expression of a wide range of genes expressed by other organs (e.g. endocrine gland). This leads to negative selection of thymocytes reactive to these self antigens.
What occurs in Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome?
Loss of functions of AIRE gene leads to endocrine organs being destructed by antibodies and lymphocytes.
What are the mechanisms of peripheral tolerance?
Dominant Suppression (cell suppresses its activity) Cell Intrinsic Activation (become unresponsive)
What is the function of nTregs?
Mainly against self Ag
What is the function of the iTregs?
Mainly against foreign antigens
What is the function of Tr1?
Express high levels of IL-10, an immunoregulatory cytokine.