Keywords

Immune response. Protein. Complementary. Cell-signalling. Lysosome. Monokines. Interferon. Memory cells. Nucleus. Vaccine. Pandemic. Evolution. Enzyme. Antigen. Antibody. Pathogen. Glycoprotein. Plasma membrane. Lymphocyte. Polypeptide. Phagocyte. Amino acid. Cytokine. Receptor site. Lymphocyte. Macrophage. Antigen-presenting cell. Neutrophil. Chemotaxis. Differentiation. Interleukins. Clonal selection. Clonal expansion. Immunological memory. Disease. Protein. Mitosis. Plasma cell. Active immunity. Mutation. Epidemic. Passive immunity. Natural immunity. Artificial immunity. Selection pressure. Antibiotic. Parasite. Prostaglandins. Hormone. DNA.

At the end of this section I need to be able to:

1. Define the terms immune response, antigen and antibody 2. Describe, with the aid of diagrams, the structure of antibodies 3. Outline the mode of action of antibodies, with reference to neutralisation and agglutination of pathogens 4. Describe the structure and mode of action of T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes, including the significance of cell signalling and the role of memory cells 5. Compare and contrast primary and secondary immune responses 6. Compare and contrast active, passive, natural and artificial immunity 7. Explain how vaccination can control disease 8. Discuss the responses of governments and other organisations to the threat of new strains of influenza each year

9. Outline possible sources of new medicines, with reference to microorganisms and plants and the need to maintain biodiversity.