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BCM368 Theme 1 summary
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Full summary of theme 1 (immunology) made using lecture notes, the textbook and class notes.
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OVERVIEW OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEMA HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF IMMUNOLOGY
- Immunity is the state of protection against foregin pathogens or substances
(antigens)
- Immunis (latin) - “exempt”
- Observations of immunity go back over 2000 years - in 430 BC, a plague
occurred in Athens where those who had recovered could safely nurse the
currently ill
- Immunity can be generated without inducing disease through vaccination
- Vaccination prepares the immune system to eradicate an infectious agent
before it causes disease
- Common vaccines include rabies vaccine and smallpox vaccine
- Chinese and Turks recorded the first attempts to induce immunity
- Was against smallpox
- Involved inhaling or inserting dried crusts from smallpox pustules into
small cuts in the the skin - variolation
- Edward Jenner developed the first vaccine in 1798 using cowpox pustules
- Pasteur developed the idea of an attenuated vaccine using heat treatment of
the rabies virus
VACCINATION AND IMMUNITY
- Goal of vaccination is to expose the individual to a pathogen in a safe way,
allowing the immune cells to respond and developing and honing a strategy to
fight this pathogen or others that are similar
, - Can produce extremely specific and long-lived memory cells
- Efficiency of vaccine depends on mutation and evolution rate of the virus
- HI virus mutates rapidly so developing a vaccine is difficult
- Rabies virus mutates slowly so one vaccine can be used to protect an
individual for decades
- Herd immunity - a critical mass of people acquires protective immunity either
through vaccination or recovery from infection and can serve as a buffer for
the rest
- Susceptible and non immune individuals can benefit from pervasive immunity
of their neighbours
- Eradication of a disease and end of universal vaccination can have a
downside
- Number of people with no immunity to the disease will begin to rise
- Herd immunity ends
- A weaponized version of the disease can be used as a potential
bioterrorism threat
HUMORAL AND CELLULAR COMPONENTS OF IMMUNITY
- Full immune response requires both cellular and humoral immunity
- Humoral immunity combats pathogens via antibodies
- Antibodies are produced by B cells
- Can be transferred between individuals to provide passive immunity
- Humoral immunity involves the soluble component that could neutralise or
precipitate toxins and could agglutinate bacteria
- Immunoglobulin is a fraction of this serum - contains active molecules called
antibodies
- Antiserum - antibody-containing serum fraction from a pathogen-exposed
individual
- Passive immunity includes the use of immune serum containing antibodies
against snake or scorpion venom to treat victims of certain poisonous bites or
stings
- Passive immunity is short lived and limited as the cells that produce these
antibodies are not being transferred
- Natural infection or administration of a vaccine is said to produce active
immunity
- Cell-mediated immunity involves primarily lymphocytes
- These can eradicate pathogens, clear infected self-cells or aid other
cells in inducing immunity
- Is a type of white blood cell
- Humoral and cell-mediated immunity relies on surface receptors (B- and T-
cell receptors)
- Receptors are randomly generated by gene segment rearrangements in B
and T cells
, - B cells that encounter an antigen produce the antibody specificity of their cell
membrane immunoglobulin
- Antigen - any substance that elicits a specific response by B or T lymphocytes
- Released B cells are called antibodies
- T-cell receptors bind specific peptides presented by MHC molecules
- Cellular immunity is imparted by T cells and the antibodies produced by B
cells confer humoral immunity
MAMMALIAN IMMUNE RESPONSE
- Pathogens - organisms that cause disease
- Pathogens fall into 4 main categories
- Viruses
- Bacteria
- Fungi
- Parasites
- Immune responses are quickly tailored to the type of organism involved and
depend on the structure of the pathogen and its location i.e. intra- or extra-
cellular
- Some areas are “off limits” to the immune system because an immune
response could do more damage than the pathogen e.g. the eye or CNS
,
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