Running head: IMMUNITY AND RESPONSE 1

Immunity and infections

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Immunity and Response 2

Describe elements and processes of innate and adaptive immunity.

The immunity system is basically divided into two main categories. These are the innate and the
adaptive immunity. Innate immunity usually refers to the non-specific defense that takes action
immediately after the antigens have appeared in the body. Adaptive immunity on the other hand
refers to the antigen-specific immune response. This type of immunity is more complex than
innate immunity (Serra et al., 2017).
Explain the mechanisms of inflammation.
Inflammation can best be described as the immediate response that is usually triggered by
the tissues that are damaged. Inflammation is a defense mechanism that is found in higher
organisms and this helps to prevent any form of infection. The main purpose of inflammation is
that it helps to remove the damaged tissues. The responses that usually take place after
inflammation are changes in the rate of blood flow, migration of the white blood cells and other
body fluids (Van Regenmortel et al., 2014).

Characterize immunity, antigens, immunogens, and antibodies.

There are two main types of immunity and these are natural immunity and acquired
immunity. Innate immunity is inherited by an organism from the parents while acquired immunity
is immunity that an individual acquires after birth. An antigen is any foreign substance that usually
triggers an immune response. Antigens are usually proteins or polysaccharides. All the antigens
have the ability to be processed by the immune system. Immunogens are a specific type of the
antigen that produces an immune response are they are mainly made up of proteins. The amount
of dose immunogens depends on the type of the organism and if a very small. The common method
of entry into the body of the animal is through the mouth. Antibodies are immunoglobulin’s that
are produced by the body in response to a foreign material that is harmful to the body. The
antibodies can either bound with the cells membrane or they can remain free. There are mainly
five types of antibodies and these are: IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG and IgM. Antibodies are proteins that
are made by the cells of the immune system. The three main components of the antibodies are
heavy chain, light chain and binding sites (Serra et al., 2017).

Compare and contrast cellular and humoral immunity.

Cellular immunity is usually facilitated by the TH cells which have been activated and the
Cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Humoral immunity on the other hand is usually facilitated by the
antibodies which are produced by the B cells. Humoral immunity is a position to show very quick
response against pathogens while cellular immunity is does not take a quick action against the
pathogens. Cellular immunity helps to protect the body against fungi, virus and bacteria.
Extracellular. Humoral immunity on the other hand helps to protect the body against extracellular
Immunity and Response 3

bacteria and the viral pathogens. Both the cellular and the humoral immunity are very efficient
against a big number of microbial pathogens (Van Regenmortel et al., 2014).

Compare and contrast the four hypersensitivities (I, II, III, and IV).
Type I hypersensitivity occurs because of reactions to the Allergens. Type I reaction is
usually associated with two types of white blood cells and these are (mast cells and basophils).
Type II hypersensitivity usually involve the binding of IgG and IgM antibodies to antigens on the
surfaces of the cells. Type III hypersensitivity usually occurs because of the formation of the
antigen-antibody complexes that remains on the tissues and the body organs. Type IV
hypersensitivity is normally controlled by the T cells and this occurs because of the delayed
reactions to antigens. In general Type I, II, III hypersensitivities result from the antibody actions
while Type IV hypersensitivity is usually associated with T cell lymphocytes (Serra et al., 2017).

Compare and contrast the inactivated virus vaccine and live-attenuated virus vaccine.
The inactivated virus is made from using the viruses that have been grown in the culture
medium and they are usually inactivated before they are added into the vaccine. In the inactivated
vaccines nothing inside it is alive. After immunization the inactivated virus cannot grow. These
type of vaccine require multiple doses. On the other hand, the live attenuated virus vaccine is made
up of a virus that has been weakened before being included in the vaccine. After immunization the
attenuated virus is able to grow and therefore very small dosage is required.

Using AIDS as a prototype, describe the complications that accompany immunodeficiency

disorders.
HIV virus usually attacks specific cells in the immune system. These are known as the T
cells. HIV reduces the number of the CD4 cells that are present in the body When these cells have
been destroyed then it becomes very difficult for the body to fight off other infections. These
infections are pneumonia, tuberculosis, toxoplasmosis oral thrush etc. HIV can also result into
renal complications and most of the time the patients have the renal disease this disease has the
leading numbers of mortality rates. AIDS also lead to cardiovascular infections and this will finally
lead to the increased chance of having a heart attack (Okoye et al., 2007).
Immunity and Response 4

References
Okoye, A., Meier-Schellersheim, M., Brenchley, J. M., Hagen, S. I., Walker, J. M., Rohankhedkar,

M., ... & Sylwester, A. W. (2007). Progressive CD4+ central–memory T cell decline results

in CD4+ effector–memory insufficiency and overt disease in chronic SIV infection.

Journal of Experimental Medicine, 204(9), 2171-2185.

Serra, M. B., Barroso, W. A., Silva, N. N. D., Silva, S. D. N., Borges, A. C. R., Abreu, I. C., &

Borges, M. O. D. R. (2017). From inflammation to current and alternative therapies

involved in wound healing. International journal of inflammation, 2017.

Van Regenmortel, M. H. (2014). Specificity, polyspecificity, and heterospecificity of antibody‐

antigen recognition. Journal of Molecular Recognition, 27(11), 627-639.