Immunology Section I

Front 1

What sets vertebrates apart from invertebrates such as protozoa and arthropods?

Back 1

They have both an innate and an adaptive immune system.

Front 2

What is the innate immunity?

Back 2

Also known as nonspecific immunity, it is present in the individual at all times and is the initial response to microbial invasion.
It does NOT improve on repeated exposure to a given pathogen, and does not discriminate between pathogens.

Front 3

What constitutes the first and second lines of host defense?

Back 3

The innate immunity.

Front 4

What is the adaptive immunity?

Back 4

Also known as the specific immunity, it is mediated by T and B lymphocytes and is a highly specific reaction to a particular pathogen. It takes several days to become completely functional and improves with each successive encounter with the same pathogen.

Front 5

What is the third line of host defense?

Back 5

The adaptive immunity.

Front 6

What are the components of the first line of defense? (3)

Back 6

--Epithelial barriers.
--Mucosal layers and secretions.
--Normal flora of the GI.

Front 7

What are the main components of the second line of defense? (3)

Back 7

--Phagocytosis
--Inflammation
--Antimicrobial substances

Front 8

What are some various influences and factors of host immunity?

Back 8

--Age
--Nutrition
--GI tract/oral cavity
--Eyes
--Genitourinary tract
--Lysozyme****
--Oxygen tension
--Complement
--Interferons
--Temperature
--Iron-binding protein****

Front 9

What are the main components of specific immunity? (2)

Back 9

--Antibody-mediated (humoral) immunity
--Cell-mediated immunity

Front 10

What are the three phases of specific immune response?

Back 10

1) Recognition of the antigen.
2) Activation leading to clonal expansion.
3) Antibodies and cytotoxic T lymphocytes destroy antigens.

Front 11

What are the cells of the immune system? Which lineages are they derived from?

Back 11

--Myeloid
Monocytes
Basophils
Neutrophils
Eosinophils
--Lymphoid
B lymphocytes
T lymphocytes
Plasma proteins
Albumin
Fibrinogen
Globulin

Front 12

What percentage of plasma proteins are produced by the liver?

Back 12

50-80%

Front 13

Which plasma protein has the greatest role in the immune system?

Back 13

Globulins.

Front 14

What are Cluster of Differentiation Molecules?

Back 14

These are cell surface molecules that are expressed on a variety of cell types. They are used to differentiate between different cell populations.

Front 15

Markers to differentiate between different cell populations...?

Back 15

Cluster of Differentiation Molecules (CDs)

Front 16

What can host immune response lead to? (4)

Back 16

--Autoimmunity
--Immunodeficiency
--Hypersensitivity
--Transplantation reaction

Front 17

Antigens

Back 17

Substances that can induce a humoral and/or cell-mediated immune response when introduced into an individual or animal.

Must react with antibodies or sensitized T cells.

Front 18

What are types of antigens?

Back 18

--Microbial (bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa, helminths)
--Nonmicrobial (foreign proteins, food antigens, plant antigens, cell surface proteins)

Front 19

What are the requirements for antigenicity?

Back 19

--Foreignness
--Chemical complexity
--Molecular size
--Stability
--Degradability
--Genetic makeup of the host
--Method of administration

Front 20

Epitopes

Back 20

Sites on or within the antigen that stimulate the immune response, determining the specificity of the antigen molecule.

Front 21

Internal Epitopes

Back 21

Epitopes (sites of immune stimulation) that are expressed only after the antigen has been partially degraded in vivo by antigen-presenting cells.

Epitopes will be an amino acid or polysaccharide.

Antigens with internal epitopes will have a lower antigenicity.

Front 22

Multivalent vs. Monovalent
Which is better?

Back 22

Multivalent = many different epitopes
Monovalent = only one type of epitope

A multivalent antigen is better because there are more immune responses which can be mounted against the various epitopes on these particles.

Front 23

Accessibility of the epitope affects...

Back 23

Immunogenicity. An antigen with epitopes expressed inside the parent molecule are less immunogenic than those whose epitopes are expressed on the outside.

Front 24

Cross-Reactivity

Back 24

Antibodies elicited by one antigen can cross-react with unrelated antigen thanks to similar or identical epitopes. (AKA heterophile antigens)

With similar epitopes, the affinity for binding is less with the secondary, cross-binding epitope than with the original.

Front 25

What three things does cross-reactivity provide the basis for?

Back 25

--Autoimmune diseases
--Heterologous vaccines
--False-positive diagnoses

Front 26

Antigen-Binding Molecules of Adaptive Immunity (3)

Back 26

--B cell receptor (BCR)
--T cell receptor (TCR)
--Major Histocompatability Complex (MHC)

Front 27

BCR

Back 27

B cell receptor. Consists of a membrane immunoglobulin in association with Ig-alpha and Ig-beta.

Front 28

TCR

Back 28

T cell receptor. Consists of alpha and beta protein chains associated with the signal transduction molecule CD3+ zeta.

Front 29

Major Histocompatability Complex

Back 29

Proteins encoded by corresponding MHC genes, which are classified into class I, II, and III.

They are cell surface molecules that present antigenic peptides to T cells.

They play a role in transplantation rejection.

Front 30

Hapten

Back 30

Nonantigenic molecule which cannot induce an immune response by itself, but can react with the products of that response.

If a hapten is coupled to a protein antigen, it acts as a new epitope, and an immune response is generated for both the carrier protein and the hapten.

Antibody specific to the given hapten can recognize free OR conjugate hapten, regardless of what it's bound to.

Front 31

Autocoupling Hapten

Back 31

A hapten which possesses the ability to form spontaneous covalent bonds with self proteins, creating neoantigens.

Has serious consequences for the body.

Front 32

Cytokine

Back 32

Soluble proteins secreted by the cells of innate and adaptive immunity that stimulate and occasionally suppress the growth, maturation, and functioning of cells in the immune system.

They bind to specific cytokine receptors on the cells that they effect.

Front 33

What are three terms given for cytokines?

Back 33

--Lymphokines (produced by lymphocytes)
--Monokines (produced by monocytes and macrophages)
--Interleukins (produced by and act on lymphocytes)