Week 6 - Innate Immunity

Front 1

Is innate immunity in all animals and plants? Does it have memory? What triggers innate immunity.

Back 1

Yes, innate immunity is in all animals and plants. It does not have memory. PAMPs (pathogen associated molecular patterns) trigger it.

Front 2

What are the elements of innate immunity?

Back 2

Physical barriers (skin), sensors of microbes and tissue injury, chemical barriers, phagocytes, NK cells, and complement

Front 3

What are unique features of bactera, relative to human cells? (things we recognize as "non-self" to start an immune response)

Back 3

LPS (in gram negative bacteria), lipopeptides, peptidoglycan in the cell wall (NAM and NAG), flagella, unmethylated CpG in DNa

Front 4

What molecule that is characteristic of viruses that is sensed in human cells?

Back 4

Double stranded RNA

Front 5

What part of LPS is often recognized by sensors?

Back 5

Lipid A

Front 6

What are the effects of LPS on humans?

Back 6

Fever, chills, increased heart and resp. rate, decreased BP, and increased TNF-alpha.
High doses can lead to septic shock and death.

Front 7

Based on studies of LPS-unresponsive mice, how do we know LPS response has a protective function?

Back 7

LPS-unresponsive mice do not respond to infection as well. The LPS response must stimulate the innate immune response

Front 8

What two types of receptors can detect LPS? Where are they found? What is the effect of LPS binding?

Back 8

Toll like receptors, found on the membranes of macrophages, recognize LPS
Nod-like receptors, found in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells. Complement (mannose binding lectin) and peptidoglycan recognition protein is also involved.
Activation of these receptors results in the stimulation of the inflammatory response (antimicrobial peptides, upregulation of adhesion molecules, inflammatory cytokine expression, acute phase proteins)

Front 9

How was the toll like receptor discovered?

Back 9

Scientists knocked this gene out while studying dorsal ventral patterning in drosophila. They found that these knock out flies kept getting fungal infections

Front 10

Are there multiple TLRs? Why? What do TLR4, TLR5, and TLR9 recognize?

Back 10

There are multiple TLR receptors, because they are each activated by a different molecule, and elicit a specific response in turn.
TLR4 recognizes LPS. TLR5 recognizes flagella, and TLR9 recognizes CpG DNA

Front 11

What pathway do TLRs activate?

Back 11

The NFKappaB pathway, which is pro-inflammatory

Front 12

How can TLRs be exploited to provide treatment? What drug is an example of this?

Back 12

The immune response can be stimulated by targeting TLRs (which should activate the immune response). Imiquimod is a drug used to generate an antiviral response.