Immunology

The Human Immune System

Antigens
Antibodies
Cell-mediated Immunity
Immune Response to Proteins
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Explain how the human body
reacts to common infections.
(CO1)
Discuss the role of antigens and
antibodies, and their
interactions. (CO1, CO2)
Identify the various immune
responses for foreign proteins.
(CO1, CO4)
Immune System
 composed of defensive white blood cells
that circulate in the blood stream and
line the lymphatic system
Functions
 monitor the bloodstream and tissues to
detect invading bacteria, fungi, protists,
or viruses;
 to identify body cells infected with
viruses; and
 to screen for cancer cells.
 Immunity
 an organism’s capacity to resist and
combat infection
Complement – set of proteins that circulate
in inactive form throughout the body
Innate immunity – a set of fast, general
defenses against infection
Adaptive immunity – tailors immune
defenses to a vast array of specific
pathogens that an individual may
encounter during its lifetime
 Innate and Adaptive Immunity
Compared
Innate Immunity Adaptive
Immunity
Response time Immediate About a week
How antigen is Fixed set of receptors Billions of antigen
detected for molecular patterns receptors
typically found on produced by
pathogens random
recombination of
antigen genes
Specificity None Specific antigens
targeted
Persistence None Long-term
Three Lines of Defense
 Physical, chemical and mechanical barriers
that keep pathogens on the outside of the
body

 Begins after the tissue is damaged or after an

antigen is detected inside the body – innate
immunity

 White blood cells form huge populations that

target a specific antigen and destroy anything
bearing that antigen.
The Defenders
 Phagocytic – means they move about and engulf other
cells
 cytokines – signaling molecules that cells of the
immune system use to communicate with one
another
Neutrophils – most abundant of the circulating
phagocytic cells and fast-acting

Macrophage – mature monocytes that patrol the

blood

Dendritic cells – alert the adaptive immune system

to the presence of antigen in tissues.
The Defenders
Eosinophils – target parasites too big for
phagocytosis

Basophils – circulating in blood and mast cells

anchored in tissues secrete substances contained
by their granules in response to injury or antigen.
The Defenders
Lymphocytes – produce antibodies
B cell – recognizes antigens via membrane-bound
antibodies. Only type of cell that produces
antibodies
T cell – don’t produce antibodies but are essential
for antibody production and activation of certain
types of macrophages
Cytotoxic T cells – kill infected, cancerous, or
foreign cells.
Inducer T cells – mediate the development of T
cells in the thymus
Suppressor T cells – help control the magnitude
of the response
The Defenders
Helper T cells – important in initiating and
maintaining the B cells response to an antigen

Natural killer (NK) cells – can destroy infected or

cancerous body cells that are undetectable by
cytotoxic T cells.
The Defenders
The Defenders
Lymphatic system
– parallels the vascular system and collects the fluid
that accumulates between cells (interstitial fluid)

lymph nodes – nodes that act as filter and swell in

the presence of infection
Surface Barriers
Skin
covers and protects the body

the outer layer of the skin is epithelial cell

Surface Barriers
Normal flora
microorganisms that typically live on human
surfaces, including the interior tubes and cavities
of the digestive and respiratory tracts

Staphylococcus epidermis – most common

colonizer of the skin
Staphylococcus aureus – stuck in mucus secreted
by human nasal epithelial cells
Clostridium tetani – passes through our intestines
so often
 Surface Barriers
Lysozyme
antibacterial enzyme that occurs in body secretions
such as mucus
Mouth – resist lysozyme in saliva
– killed by gastric fluid (stomach)
– by bile salts produced by small intestine
– compete with about 500 resident species
(large intestine)
Lactic acid - helps keep the vaginal pH outside the
range of tolerance of most fungi and other bacteria
Urination’s flushing – stops pathogens from colonizing
the urinary tract
 Antigens
are any molecules of such a form that they can initiate
an immune response

maybe proteins, lipids or carbohydrates

Epitopes – each antigen may have a number of distinct

sites that are individually recognized by the immune
system

Autoimmune disease – results if immune system attacks

its own
 Antigens
Multiple sclerosis – a degenerative disease caused
when the individual’s own immune system attacks self-
antigens within the nervous system

Rheumatoid arthritis – a disease in which self antibodies

form and bind to the soft tissue in joints
 Antigen

Naïve
lymphocyte

Yes
Antigen
recognized
as self?
No

Antibody
production

Antigen
Yes actually No
self?
Antibody Antibody
production production
Development of autoimmune disease.
 Antibodies
molecules produced by B-lymphocytes

sole purpose is to adhere to material that is foreign to

the body

specific to a certain site or antigen on the surface of only

one species of bacteria

each B-lymphocyte can produce only one specific

antibody
science.halleyhosting.com
 Antibodies
Clones – identical cells producing the same antibody
 Antibodies
Somatic rearrangement – the DNA sequences that
determine the structure of the antigen recognition and
binding regions of the antibody structure are shuffled.

monoclonal – coming from one clone ; all have identical

receptor sites

polyclonal – coming from a number of different

lymphocyte clones
- allows the body to select cells that have higher affinity for
the antigen
 Structure of Antibodies
Y-shaped proteins made only by B cells

each antibody can bind to the antigen that prompted its

synthesis

membrane-bound; circulate in
blood and enter interstitial fluid
during inflammation
Structure of Antibodies

slideshare.net
 Structure of Antibodies
Fc – could be made to precipitate out of solution as a
crystal
- increases the life span of the molecule in the blood
stream and tissues

- initiates important immune reactions at the site of an

inflammatory response

Fab – fragment that is associated with the antigen-

binding activity and do not precipitate out of a solution
 Structure of Antibodies
Immunocomplexes – important in the destruction and
elimination of foreign material

wikipedia .com
 Cell-mediated Immunity
provides immunity to intracellular bacteria, viruses,
fungi, protozoa and tumors

cytotoxic T cells – kill ailing body cells that may be

missed by an antibody-mediated response
– can recognize antigen only when it is presented
on the surface of antigen presenting cells (APC)
by self MHC (major histocompatibility complex)
molecules

e.g. cancer cells

body cells infected with intracellular pathogens
Cell-mediated Immunity
 Cell-mediated Immunity
Natural killer (NK) cells are crucial for fighting cells that
has missing MHC markers
- cytokines secreted by helper T cells stimulate NK cell
division
Immune Response to Protein
involves a series of handoffs between different types of
cells in the immune system

depends on a specific type of receptor on the surface of

specific immune cells
Immune Response to Protein
MHC (major histocompatibility complex) – antigenic
receptor appears to be crucial in the immune system’s
recognition of “self”
Types:
1. MHC Class I – appears on all cells of the body,
as the primary “this is me!” flag

2. MHC Class II – appears only on specialized

cells of the immune system and must be present
for an immune response to occur
 Immune Response to Protein
Protein is ingested by APC

Peptides displayed on MPC cell surface

T-cell sees antigen

MHC receptor
bind to T-cell
CD4 receptor? Yes
No

No response Antigen present

on immature
No dendritic cells? Yes

No response
Interleukins secreted to activate B-
cells and cell-mediated response
Flowchart of the process of immune response
to proteinaceous antigens.
Immune Response to Protein
Interleukin – class of protein produced by leukocytes for
regulating immune responses

CD4 receptor – is responsible for the recognition of

MHC Class II

Dendritic cells – special class of APC

Types
1. DC-1 – dendritic cells derived from monocytes
2. DC-2 – dendritic cells derived from lymphocytes
Immune Response to Protein
DC-1 – present antigens to the T-cell receptor and
secrete interleukin 12 (IL-12)
IL-12 – causes the reaction to accelerate by inducting
the T-cells to secrete cytokines

Cytokines – excite macrophage to kill internal

pathogens, induce NK cells to attack by creating pores in
the target cells, initiate inflammation
DC-2 – secrete other interleukins that stimulate B-cells,
attract eosinophils, and promote synthesis of IgE
antibodies.
Immune Response to Protein
IgE antibodies – a type of antibody associated with
allergic responses.
HIV – a virus that infects lymphocytes and so cripples
the human immune system.