Lymphocytes Flashcards
(96 cards)
What is Adaptive Immunity?
An immune response which is tailored to a specific pathogen - involves the expansion of antigen -specific lymphocytes which target the pathogen specifically and involve the formation of memory cells which provide longer lasting immunity
What are the innate immune cells?
macrophages, neutrophils
What are the adaptive immune cells?
lymphocytes
T cells (orchestrates immune response/ kills infected cells), B cells (makes antibodies)
Why do we need adaptive immunity?
Only evolved relatively recently
Absence of adaptive immunity results in inability to clear infections e.g., “SCID babies”
Protect us from repeat infections with the same pathogens
Not without costs- can lead to autoimmunity
What are the characteristics of adaptive immunity?
Improves the efficacy of the innate immune response
Focuses on the site of infection and the organism responsible
Has memory
Needs time to develop
What are the characteristics of immunological memory?
Once the immune system has recognised and responded to an antigen, it exhibits “memory”
Memory responses are characterised by a more rapid and heightened immune reaction that serves to eliminate pathogens fast and prevent diseases
Reduction in severity on re-exposure
Antigen specific lymphocytes (B&T) are the cellular basis
Basis for vaccines
What are the 2 types of adaptive immune responses?
T cells
B cells
What is the role of the T cell adaptive immune response?
The ‘cell-mediated’ response
Produces cytokines to help shape immune response (CD4)
Kill infected cells (CD8)
What is the role of B cell adaptive immune response?
Humoral response
Produces antibodies
When is an adaptive immune response generated?
Once the pathogen overwhelms innate defense mechanisms
What major event occurs in the peripheral lymphoid organs/tissues to initiate the adaptive immune response
B or T lymphocytes encounter antigens for which their receptors have specific reactivity to
What is an antigen?
molecules that act induce an adaptive immune response
What is an epitope?
the region of an antigen which the receptor binds to
What are the two hallmarks of the adaptive immune response?
Highly specific and provide lasting immunity
How is diversity generated in the adaptive immune response?
Immunoglobulin gene rearrangement - each BCR chain is encoded by separate multi gene clusters on different chromosome, and during B cell maturation, these gene segments are rearranged and brought together
What type of epitopes do T and B cells recognise?
T cells recognise linear epitopes, B cells recognise structural epitopes
What are the chains of the BCR receptor?
Kappa, lambda and heavy chain
Where does B cell Maturation occur?
In the bone marrow
What is another word for gene reassortment?
recombination
How does recombination occur and what is it?
○ Functional genes for antigen receptors do not exist until they are generated during lymphocyte development
○ Each BCR receptor chain (kappa, lambda, and heavy chain genes) is encoded by separate multigene families on different chromosomes
○ During B cell maturation these gene segments are rearranged and brought together
○ This process is called immunoglobulin gene rearrangement
○ Immunoglobulin gene rearrangement generates the diversity of the lymphocyte repertoire
What are some problems with the random process of gene reassortment to generate the high number of BCRs we need.
Autoimmunity - producing BCRs and TCRs that complement your own self antigens
What is immunological memory?
Where memory lymphocytes exist in the blood that are able to recognize and bind to the same antigen upon subsequent infections and therefore induce an immune response
What are characteristics of a a secondary immune response?
Faster and must larger response
What are the two primary cells involved in the adaptive immune response and which response are they involved in?
T cells = Cell Mediated Response
B cells = Humoral / Antibody Reponse