The Immune System &

Vaccines
Unit 10
Chapter 17, 18 & 19
 Figure of the Day
• Rules: if already seen‐ don’t give away answer! Let classmates 
enjoy figuring it out.
• Start with general observations: What do you know? What types 
of variables are shown (numerical, categorical, etc.)? Are colors or 
numbers used in a certain context?
 Figure of the Day
• Is this an observational or 
controlled experiment?

• What is the dependent 
variable? Is there an 
independent variable?

• What conclusions can you 
draw from this graph?
 Vaccines
• Take 2 minutes to write down a personal definition of a vaccine. 
• Share out what are somethings you included in your definition.
• From the CDC: Definition of Terms (https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac‐gen/imz‐
basics.htm#terms)
• Immunity: Protection from an infectious disease. If you are immune to a disease, you can be 
exposed to it without becoming infected.
• Vaccine: A product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific 
disease, protecting the person from that disease. Vaccines are usually administered through 
needle injections, but can also be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose.
• Vaccination: The act of introducing a vaccine into the body to produce immunity to a specific 
disease.
• Immunization: A process by which a person becomes protected against a disease through 
vaccination. This term is often used interchangeably with vaccination or inoculation.
• How was your definition similar? How did it differ? Take 2 minutes to add information to 
your definition.
 Types of Vaccines
• Go to this website: 
https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/types‐vaccines
**might need to tell browser this is a secure site, click advanced 
then continue to site
• During the next 10 minutes, read through the information and 
hover over each step to learn more. Then summarize the three 
major types of vaccines below.
• Live Attenuated
• Inactivated
• Subunit/Conjugate
 Types of Vaccine Matching (2 per)
• Live attenuated 1. Requires booster shots or doses
• Inactivated 2. Another option is a recombinant 
• Subunit/conjugate version where the protein is added to 
another cell
3. Causes strongest immune response by 
stimulating more B cells & T cells
4. Made of pathogen proteins (antigens)
5. Possible to cause mild symptoms or 
side effects
6. Cause lowered immune response but 
contains a killed pathogen
 How do vaccines work?
• Take 3 minutes to write down everything you know to answer this 
question. 
• Share out what are somethings you included in your definition.
 How do vaccines work?
Activate Immune System
• Innate Immune System‐ non‐specific
• Reacts quickly
• External‐ physical barriers & secreted chemicals
• Internal‐ blood cells, cytokines, inflammation, phagocytosis, & 
complement

• Adaptive Immune System‐ specificity between Antigen & WBCs
• Needs activation
• Internal‐ B cells & T cells
• Antibodies
• Immunological Memory
Types of Immunity
 Summarize Response to Vaccine
• Go to this website: https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/how‐vaccines‐work#close
**might need to tell browser this is a secure site, click advanced then continue to site
• During the next 10 minutes, summarize the response to vaccine portion noting the roles of the 
following parts.
• Antigen Presenting Cell (APC):
• Dendritic cells and macrophages, both act non‐specifically
• T Helper Cell:
• Naïve B Cell:
• Plasma Cell:
• Antibodies:
• Killer T Cell (T Cytotoxic Cell): 
• Memory Cells:
 Summarize Response to Pathogen
• Go to this website: https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/how‐vaccines‐work#close
• During the next 10 minutes, summarize the response to pathogen portion noting the roles of the 
following parts.
• Activate Memory T Helper Cells:
• Memory B Cells:
• Plasma B Cells:
• Antibodies:
• Killer T Cell (T Cytotoxic Cell): 
 Practice Short Answer
• Using the information on how vaccines work, explain why a live 
attenuated vaccine will create a larger immune response in 
comparison to a inactivated vaccine.
Antibody Protection Methods
• Activation of Complement
• Toxin and Virus Neutralization
• Prevent toxin from working or attachment to host cell
• Inhibition of Adherence and Mobility
• FC portion binds to mucus to form a sticky trap
• Cytolysis
• Via C’ MAC or NK cells
• Opsonization
• Inflammation
• Antibodies on mast cells bind Ag and mast cells release 
histamine
• Precipitation & Agglutination‐ Crosslinking
 Label Each as a Method of Antibody
Protection

Figure 18.7

Figure 18.8

Figure 18.10
Figure 18.9
 Types of Antibodies
• D: B cell surface receptor, when secreted 
activated mast cells or basophils
• A: dimer, secreted in mucous
• E: allergies, discussed later
• G: major one, secreted by plasma cells, 
many functions
• M: pentamer, best at agglutination, 
produced first upon vaccination/infection
 Antibody Diversity
• More specifically humans have about:
• Heavy chains:
• 51 V genes, 27 D genes & J genes
• 51 x 27 x 6 = 8,262 possible
• Light chains:
• 40 V genes & 5 J genes of one type
• 30 V genes & 4 J genes of a second type
• 40 x 5 = 200 and 30 x 4 = 120 then combined= 320
• Now combine heavy & light chains= 8,262 x 320 = more than 
2.6 million from only 163 genes
Activating the correct B & T cells (Clonal Selection Theory)‐
Draw with me (See Fig. 18.17, 18.18, & 18.22)
 Figure of the Day Part 1
• Rules: if already seen‐ don’t 
give away answer!
• Start with general 
observations: What do you 
know? What types of variables 
are shown (numerical, 
categorical, etc.)? Are colors or 
numbers used in a certain 
context?
 Figure of the Day Part 1
• Is this an observational or controlled 
experiment?

• What is the dependent variable? What is 
the independent variable?

• Did the 2009 H1N1 virus cause an immune 
response in these mice? How do you 
know?

• What conclusion do you draw from the 
comparison they are making?
Figure 1. Adult male and female mice were
inoculated intranasally with 10 TCID (i.e., the
50
tissue culture infectious dose that causes
cytopathic effects in 50% of cells) units of 2009
H1N1 virus. Blood serum samples were
collected to measure anti-2009 H1N1 IgG titers.
 Figure of the Day Part 2
• This is from the same paper.
• In what ways do these results further support your 
conclusion from the previous graph? 

• You are going to make a vaccine against the 2009 
H1N1 virus. Take 10 minutes.
1. Which type of vaccine would you choose to make 
and why?
2. Name two dependent variables you would measure 
that would support that your vaccine is effective in 
the mice.
3. Explain how you would perform your test on vaccine 
efficacy and safety.

Figure 1. 21 days after injection with the virus,

anti-2009 H1N1 IgA antibody-secreting (ASC)
B cells were quantified in the lungs (C) and
CD4+ T helper cells (D) were analyzed.
 Ensuring Vaccine Safety
• Take 2 minutes to write down what you think is important for vaccine safety and what 
you think is involved in the process of making vaccines. 
• Go to this website: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/patient‐
ed/conversations/downloads/vacsafe‐ensuring‐bw‐office.pdf
• Take 5 minutes to read and summarize each of the steps below:
• Development:
• Clinical Trials:
• Phase I:
• Phase II:
• Phase III:
• Post‐lincensure:
• VAERS
• FDA’s role:
 Figure of the Day
•Based on this graph, what phase of clinical trails is this vaccine in?

 Should this vaccine be

licensed? Why or why
not?
 Adverse effects‐ why?
• Category 1: Side effects (expected)
• Examples soreness, reddening or rash, fever, runny nose

• Soreness due to injecting and breaking the external surface, 
similar pain to when get a cut
• Redding or rash due to inflammation, part of innate immune 
response
• Fever due to innate immune response
 External Defenses
• Physical Barriers
• Skin & mucous membranes
• Contains nervous tissue and Figure 17.3
pain receptors

• Vaccines penetrate this layer,

irritating the nerves (soreness)
and activates inflammatory
response
 Inflammation Response- Draw with me
(See Fig. 17.19 & 17.23)

• Results in swelling that causes redness and further soreness

• Activates fever response, non-specific
Fever
• Initiation:
• Endotoxins from pathogens stimulates WBCs to release
pyrogens
• Exotoxins from pathogens released by bacteria can cause
fever (also called exogenous pyrogens)
• Moderately-elevated temperature increases
• Phagocytic cell activity
• Lymphocyte production
• Effect of interferon
• General metabolism
• Higher temperature favors host over invader
 Adverse effects‐ why?
• Category 2: Allergic reaction 
• Vaccine component or something in 
person’s environment activates a B 
cell to make antibodies
• Produces IgE which coat mast cells
• Vaccine component or allergen re‐
enter the body
• Mast cells release histamine
• Causes vasodilation= swelling, 
redness, itchiness,  etc.
 Adverse effects‐ why?
• Category 3: Other health problems
• Unknown origin or cause
• Could be correlated to vaccine but too many other potential variables
• History behind anti‐vaccine movement
• 1980‐ DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) “causing” neurological 
disorders, never supported by public health research
• 1998‐ MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) “causes” autism spectrum 
disorder (ASD)
• Then in general antigen exposure overwhelmed the immune system 
due to any vaccine or multiple on one day “causes” ASD
• Then a stabilizing agent called thimerosal, a mercury preservative, 
“causes” ASD
 MMR
• Danish study including over 
500,000 children
• Relative risk: ratio incidence 
rate autism for vaccinated to 
unvaccinated indiv.
• Risk near or around 1 mean that 
vaccinated rate is equal to 
unvaccinated rate
• What conclusions can be 
drawn from this table?
 Antibody‐stimulating proteins & polysaccharides in 
vaccines
• What conclusions can be drawn from this graph?

Figure 1. Parents of study participants reported the number of doses and specific vaccines each child had been
given from birth to age 2. Each vaccine contains a certain number of immunogens (aka antigens) for example,
yellow fever vaccine has 11 antigens. Children were random sample of those diagnosed with autism spectrum
disorder (ASD) and controls. Percentage of 3,112 participants in each category is plotted.
 Antibody‐stimulating proteins & polysaccharides in 
vaccines
• What conclusions can be drawn from this graph?

Figure 2. Parents of study participants reported the maximum number of vaccines their child received in a
single day, which was used to determine the number of immunogens (aka antigens) received in a single day.
Children were random sample of those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and controls.
Percentage of 3,112 participants in each category is plotted.
 Thimerosal/Ethylmercury in vaccines
• What conclusions can be drawn from this table?
 Parent Narratives
• Take 5 minutes to respond to one of the parent narratives with 
information you have learned in this unit in this google doc.
• Then find a different narrative, respond and add to that student’s 
response. Take another 5 minutes.
• Google doc: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xMXq1lCyu49hVxSeQchQ
FZbQQ0zp_CqV3aSg2olo70E/edit?usp=sharing
Evasion of Host Immune 
Responses
Yet we still get sick…
Evading our
Antibodies
• Antibody protease
• FC receptors capture Ab on cell surface
• Antigenic drift
• Mimicking host molecules
 Figure 17.3
Evading our
External Defenses
• Physical Barriers- Skin & mucous
membranes
• Peristalsis
• Ciliary action
• Secreted Chemicals
• Acidic secretions (sweat, sebum) &
mucous

• How?
• Pili or other adhesins for attachment
• Biofilms for attachment Figure 17.5
• Invasins induce phagocytosis by 
nonphagocytic cells
Evading our
Phagocytosis
• Draw with me (Figure 17.21)
Evading our
Phagocytosis
• How?
• Capsule
• C3b digesting enzyme (C3b peptidase)
• Survival within phagocyte
• Escape from phagosome into cytoplasm (Rickettsia)
• Inhibit fusion of lysosome and phagosome (M. 
tuberculosis)
Evading our
Cell Communication
• Interferon
• Antiviral
• Causes 1) destroy viral RNA, 2) apoptosis, 3) activate
adaptive immune cells
• Not virus specific
• How?
• Viral regulatory proteins 
that stop host gene 
expression

Figure 17.11
Evading our
Complement Proteins
• Serum proteins that “complement” the adaptive
immune response
• Three mechanisms for activation, but the results are the
same
• Act in an ordered sequence - “Complement Cascade”
• Product of one reaction activates next in sequence (usually
by splitting)
• End with membrane attack complex
Evading our
Complement Proteins
• How?
• Capsule and altered O antigen prevent C3 convertase 
formation (Alternate Pathway)