Week 9 Flashcards
(47 cards)
innate immunity
nonspecific defense mechanisms that come into play immediately or within hours of an antigen’s appearance in the body. These mechanisms include physical barriers such as skin, chemicals in the blood, and immune system cells that attack foreign cells in the body.
acquired immunity
composed of specialized, systemic cells and processes that eliminates pathogens by preventing their growth. The acquired immune system is one of the two main immunity strategies found in vertebrates
antigen
molecule or molecular structure, such as may be present at the outside of a pathogen, that can be bound by an antigen-specific antibody or B cell antigen receptor
stem cell
undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell in a cell lineage
hematopoietic
stem cells that give rise to other blood cells
B cells
B lymphocytes, are a type of white blood cell of the lymphocyte subtype. They function in the humoral immunity component of the adaptive immune system by secreting antibodies
antibodies
Y-shaped proteins that bind to the body’s foreign invaders and signal the immune system to get to work
memory B cells
a B cell sub-type that are formed within germinal centers following primary infection. Memory B cells can survive for decades and repeatedly generate an accelerated and robust antibody-mediated immune response in the case of re-infection (also known as a secondary immune response)
plasma B cells
white blood cells that originate in the bone marrow and secrete large quantities of proteins called antibodies in response to being presented specific substances called antigens.
phagocytes
a type of cell within the body capable of engulfing and absorbing bacteria and other small cells and particles.
complement
also known as complement cascade, is a part of the immune system that enhances the ability of antibodies and phagocytic cells to clear microbes and damaged cells from an organism, promote inflammation, and attack the pathogen’s cell membrane
IgM
type expressed by immature B-cells. Upon maturity, naïve (unactivated B-cells) express both IgM and IgD
IgD
interacts with other immune cells to produce antimicrobial factors. After activation, some of the daughter cells switch to making IgG, IgA or IgE
IgG
the prevalent type of antibody-based immunity against invading pathogens and is the only antibody that is passed between mother and child in utero
IgA
found in saliva, tears, and mucosal areas and prevents colonization by pathogens. It is also found in breast milk
IgE
protects against parasitic worms and after binding to an antigen, triggers special cells to secrete histamine. If you have allergies, you may have heard of IgE – the histamine induces many allergy symptoms.
helper T cells
arguably the most important cells in adaptive immunity, as they are required for almost all adaptive immune responses. They not only help activate B cells to secrete antibodies and macrophages to destroy ingested microbes, but they also help activate cytotoxic T cells to kill infected target cells.
cytotoxic T cells
a T lymphocyte (a type of white blood cell) that kills cancer cells, cells that are infected (particularly with viruses), or cells that are damaged in other ways.
memory T cells
Effector T cells are developed from naïve T cells when exposed to antigens. … This kind of cells is called memory T cells. Because memory T cells have been trained to recognize specific antigens, they will trigger a faster and stronger immune response after encountering the same antigen
autoimmune disease
in which your immune system mistakenly attacks your body
MHC
Major histocompatibility complex (MHC), group of genes that code for proteins found on the surfaces of cells that help the immune system recognize foreign substances
regulator T cells
Tregs are T cells which have a role in regulating or suppressing other cells in the immune system. Tregs control the immune response to self and foreign particles (antigens) and help prevent autoimmune disease
natural killer cells
lymphocytes in the same family as T and B cells, coming from a common progenitor. However, as cells of the innate immune system, NK cells are classified as group I Innate Lymphocytes (ILCs) and respond quickly to a wide variety of pathological challenges
gamma delta T cells
T cells that have a distinctive T-cell receptor (TCR) on their surface. Most T cells are αβ (alpha beta) T cells with TCR composed of two glycoprotein chains called α (alpha) and β (beta) TCR chains
