LE3219 – Leather

Microbiology
Infection and Immunity
 Infection

• When a micro-organism invades tissues of

host and starts multiplying, an infection is
established.

• Usually pathogens are responsible for

infections
 What is pathogens?
Organisms that cause disease are called pathogens.
What are the four major types of pathogen?

fungi
bacteria

protozoa

virus
 How do pathogens cause
Pathogens cause illness in three main ways:
illness?
Toxins
Toxins are harmful substances produced by the pathogen that poison the
body’s tissue and enzymes. Exotoxin, Endotoxin.

Reproduction
A rise in the number of pathogens can damage a cell, even causing it to burst.
Some pathogens hijack resources that the cell needs to survive.

Immune response
Sites of infection often become
swollen, sore and hot as a
result of increased blood flow.
 How are pathogens spread?
Different pathogens have different transmission routes:

insect bites

food and water airborne droplets

direct contact indirect contact

 Invasion!
A pathogen enters your body through direct or indirect contact.
What happens next?

The pathogen begins to

reproduce and make toxins that destroy
the body’s cells and make you feel unwell.

Painkillers can relieve the symptoms of an infection but do not kill the pathogen.

Your immune system begins to mount an attack.

 Fighting infection
How does the body fight infection?
 What is Immunity?

• Property of a living organism by which

infections are resisted and overcome.
• Immunology is the defence mechanism of the
body against foreign invasions.
 Lines of defence
The body has different lines of defense:

physical and chemical

barriers

most non-specific pathogen-specific most

essential (Innate) (Adaptive) controllable

inflammation ingestion of involves antibodies

to attract white cells bacteria by white and T- and B-cells
into tissues cells
 What are lymphocytes?
Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell found in the blood or
lymph nodes and made by bone marrow. There are several types of
lymphocyte, including:

 T-lymphocytes (T-Cell) – recognise

antigens on pathogens and either attack
them directly or co-ordinate the activity of
other cells of the immune system.

 B-lymphocytes (B-Cell)– recognise

antigens and produce special chemicals
called antibodies.
 What is Antigens and Antibody?
• Antigen: A substance that when introduced into the body
stimulates the production of an antibody. Antigens
include toxins, bacteria, foreign blood cells
and the cells of transplanted organs.
• An antibody (AB), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig),
is a large Y-shape protein produced by plasma cells that is
used by the immune system to identify and neutralize
foreign objects such as bacteria and viruses.

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 Antibody cont..
• The antibody recognizes a unique
part of the foreign target, called an
antigen.
• Each tip of the "Y" of an antibody
contains a paratope (a structure
analogous to a lock) that is specific
for one particular epitope (similarly
analogous to a key) on an antigen,
allowing these two structures to
bind together with precision.

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 Antibody cont..
• Using this binding mechanism, an antibody can tag a
microbe or an infected cell for attack by other parts of
the immune system, or can neutralize its target directly
(for example, by blocking a part of a microbe that is
essential for its invasion and survival). The production
of antibodies is the main function of the humoral
immune system.

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 Antibody cont..
Each different type of antigen causes a different type of antibody to
be produced.

An antibody can only bind to the antigen that caused it to be

produced.
 Delayed response
The B-lymphocyte that produces the correct antibody for the
antigen begins dividing to produce many more antibody-producing
cells.
It takes a few days to produce enough antibodies to destroy the
pathogen. This means there is delay between infection and the
person beginning to feel better.

Once a pathogen has been destroyed, a few memory cells remain.

These recognize the pathogen if it re-infects, and make the immune
response much quicker and more effective. This is called active
immunity.
 Immunity to microbes: general principles-1
• Defense against infections is mediated by the early
reactions of innate immunity and the later responses of
adaptive immunity
• The innate immune response controls infection long
enough for adaptive responses to kick in, and can often
eradicate the infection
• Many pathogenic microbes resist innate immunity.
Adaptive immunity is able to combat these microbes -
the lymphocyte expansion that is characteristic of
adaptive immunity helps to keep pace with rapidly
dividing microbes; specialized immune responses are
better able to deal with diverse microbes
Immunity to microbes: general principles-2
• The immune system is specialized to generate
different effector mechanisms for different types
of microbes
– Extracellular microbes: antibodies, phagocytes;
TH17, (TH1)
– Intracellular microbes: phagocytes + TH1; CTLs
– Helminthic parasites: IgE, eosinophils; TH2
 Immunity to microbes: general principles-3
• The evolutionary battle: microbes and their hosts are
engaged in a constant struggle for survival

• The outcome of infections is determined by the

balance between host defenses and the ability of
microbes to evade or resist immunity

• Immune responses to microbes are themselves

capable of causing tissue injury
Principal mechanisms of defense against microbes

Antibodies Phagocytes T cells (CTLs)

(may work with antibodies, T cells)

All microbes Intracellular

microbes, esp.
All microbes viruses
 Immune Response

• 1st Exposure 2nd Exposure

Innate Innate

No disease
No
disease Specific
Adaptive memory
defense cell for
that
Disease disease

No disease
Fighting an infection