what are the physical barriers to pathogens?
skin
reproductary, respiratory and digestive tracts
what is mucus produced by?
goblet cells
how does mucus aid in preventing pathogens causing harm?
prevents attachment of invading pathogens
contains antimicrobial enzymes such as growth inhibitors, enzyme inhibitors and lysins which kill invading organisms
contains immunoglobins which help destroy pathogens
what are the differences between the innate and adaptive immune system?
innate: non-specific, first to come into play, same response time and time again
adaptive: highly specific, immunological memory, antibody production
what is the name of the small vesicle a macrophage makes when it first engulfs a bacterium?
phagosome
what does a phagosome fuse with?
lysosome
where are macrophages made?
bone marrow
when macrophages first come out of the bone marrow and enter the blood what are they known as?
monocytes
what three states of readiness can macrophages exist in?
resting
primed
APC
(hyperactivated)
what produces redness and swelling?
redness - macrophages give off chemicals that restrict blood flow from site of injury
swelling - contraction of endothelial cells allows fluid to leak
what do macrophages produce to alert other cells to the danger and induce them to travel to the site of injury?
cytokines
what is the most abundant white blood cell?
neutrophil
how long can neutrophils survive in the blood before apoptosis is induced?
around 6 hours
what is chemotaxis?
the process where neutrophils follow a trail of chemical attractants known as chemokines to the site of inflammation
what are 3 important things to remember about eosinophils?
- help combat parasitic infections
- involved in allergy and asthma
- granules contain many enzymes
what does mast cell degranulation cause?
anaphylactic shock
what is the most famous chemical found in granules of mast cells?
histamine
what is the least common granulocyte with 2 lobes?
basophil
what are the four non-specific humoral factors found within body fluids with protective functions?
- growth inhibitors
- enzyme inhibitors
- lysins
- complement proteins
what are the three activation pathways of the complement system?
- classical
- alternative
- lectin
what is the outcome of the compliment system?
lysis of the target cell and/or opsonisation of pathogens
MAC
how many individual proteins does the complement system consist of?
20
name a protein on the cell surface which protects human cells from the complement attacking our own cells?
DAF
What do C3a and C5a (the parts that are clipped off in the complement system) serve as?
chemoattractants - recruit other immune cells to site of infection
/ anaphylotoxins
