Infection: The adaptive immune response Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Infection: The adaptive immune response Deck (7)
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1
Q

What are the different types of antigen presenting cells? Where are they found and what cell type do they present to?

A

Dendritic cells: found in lymph nodes, mucous membranes and blood. They present to T and B cells.

Macrophages: present in many tissues, and present to T cells.

B cells: present in lymphoid tissue, and present to T cells

2
Q

What are the 2 types of major histocompatibility complex and what are their roles?

A

Class 1 MHC: found on all nucleated cells, and present antigens from intracellular microbes.
Class 2 MHC: found on antigen presenting cells (dendritic, macrophages, B cells) and present antigens from extracellular microbes.

3
Q

Which T cells (and receptors) do the 2 types of MHC molecule bind to?

A

MHC class 1 binds to the CD8 receptor on T killer cells (MHC class 1 presents antigens from intracellular microbes so is therefore infected and the whole cell needs to be destroyed)

MHC class 2 binds to the CD4 receptor T helper cells to lead to activation of the B cells to destroy the pathogen

4
Q

What are some clinical problems with MHC molecules?

A

MHC mismatch is a major cause of organ transplant rejection.
Certain types of MHC predispose to autoimmune disease eg ankylosing spondylitis

5
Q

What is the role of T helper cells?

A

They enhance the immune response by activating B cells, T killer cells and macrophages.

They cause proliferation and differentiation of B cells into either plasma cells (secrete antibodies) or memory B cells for second exposure to the pathogen.

6
Q

What is the role of antibodies?

A
  1. Neutralise the pathogen
  2. Opsonisation
  3. Activate the compliment pathway
7
Q

What is the structure of an antibody?

A

There is a constant region - determines which type of antibody it is eg IgM IgA
There is a variable region which is adapted to be specific to each different antigen

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