Innate Immunity Flashcards
Chapter 15 (83 cards)
Define Species resistance
Properties that protect an organism from infection by pathogens of other different organisms
Define Innate Immunity
What type of immunity is always active, nonspecific, rapid, and able to work against a variety of pathogens?
Innate Immunity
What are the main cells of the bodies so-called 3rd line of defense?
Lymphocytes
How is the bodies 3rd line of defense different from the first 2?
The 3rd line is composed of lymphocytes which respond to unique pathogens and alter the bodies defenses to be more effective to said pathogens. So the 3rd line is specific whereas the first 2 or nonspecific.
What structures work to prevent pathogens from entering the body in the first place?
2 points
- Skin
- Mucous membranes
Which layer of sknin contains hair follicles, glands, and nerve endings?
The dermis
What makes the skin an effective defense against pathogens?
2 nonspecific answers
- Its physical structure
- Its chemical components
What 2 characteristics of innate immunity does the skin illustrate? How?
- Barriers: tightly packed epithelial cells act as a barrier to pathogens
- Clearance: outermost dead cells slough off, taking any microorganisms with them
The epidermis contains defensive cells called what?
Dendritic Cells
What cells devour pathogens non-specifically while also playing a role in adaptive immunity?
where are these cells located?
Dendritic cells in the epidermis
What fibers give skin strength and the pliability to prevent skin penetration?
Collagen
What are the skins chemical defenses against pathogens?
Name the 2 structures (not how the defense works itself)
- Dermal cells
- Sweat glands
How do sweat glands chemically protect against pathogens?
Perspiration from sweat glands contain salt, antimicrobial peptides, and the enzyme lysozome. The salt draws water from invading cells, effectively killing them.
3 components not as important, just how salt kills pathogens
What are antimicrobial peptides?
Positively charged chains of amino acids that act against microorganisms
What class of antimicrobial peptides do sweat glands secrete?
Dermcidines
Explain dermcidins?
Broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptides that act against gram-negative and positive bacteria & fungi
How does lysozyme in perspiration defend against pathogens?
Lysozome is an enzyme that breaks down cell walls of bacteria. Without a cell wall, bacteria is more easily destroyed by the bodies other defenses
How does sebum protect the skin?
- Its oily nature keeps the skin pliable
- Fatty acids in sebum lower the pH of the skin to 5 while also destabilizing cells’ membranes.
What characteristics of the skin make it a inhospitable environment to most microorganisms?
4 points
- Salt
- Antimicrobial peptides
- Lysozome
- Acidity
Where is bacteria that finds the skin a suitable environment typically abide?
2 points
- In crevices around hairs
- In the ducts of glands
Where are mucous membranes located?
generally speaking
In any body cavity open to the outside environment
How are epithelial cells in mucous membranes different from skin epithelial cells?
3 pointss
- Form a thin layer, sometimes only one cell thick (skin iss thick)
- Are alive and play roles in bodily functions (skin are dead so they can slough off eventually)
- Moist surface (skin is dry)