nChapter 9 The immune system notes

Exercise 9A Introducing antigens and pathogens

Antigens
- There are two types of antigens, non self and self antigens. They are substances that
interact with the immune response.
- Self antigens mark the cells of an organism as self so that the immune system does
not attack them. Self antigens take the form of major histocompatibility complex
(MHC) proteins. There are two types of MHC proteins- MHC I (found on any animal
cells apart from red blood cells and MHC II (found on certain cells in the immune
system). Note, MHC I markers are not found on red blood cells.
- Autoimmune diseases occur when self-antigens are recognised as non self and
attacking cells that express them.
- Foreign antigens are allergens. Allergens are antigens that the immune system
recognises as non self and initiates a strong immune response. Allergens generate an
allergic reaction.
- Antigens are substances that is recognised by the immune system as either foreign
and self. A foreign antigen will trigger an immune responses.
Self antigens
- Self antigens mark the cells of an organism as self so that the immune system does
not attack them.
- There are two classes of MHC proteins:
MHC I, which are expressed on all the cells in the human body (except for red blood
cells)
MHC II which are found on certain cells in the immune system.

Types of pathogens

- Pathogens can be noncellular and cellular pathogens.

- Cellular pathogens have a cellular structure and are living organisms. Whereas non
cellular pathogens do not have cellular structures and are non living. Examples
include virusies.

Tip: VCAA often assesses knowledge of the following table, so this is vital to know.
9B the first line of defence

Barriers in animals
- Animals have a various number of first line defences against pathogens, including
physical barriers, chemical barriers and microbiological barriers.

Barrier type Description Examples

Physical Barriers that block and - Intact skin and
hinders pathogens from surfaces external
entering the organism, i.e and internal
pathogens often try to enter environments (e.g
 via the skin
Chemical - Barriers that work by
providing chemical
substances that
make it undesirable
for the bacteria to
live in
Microbiological - Presence of
nonpathogenic
bacteria that
prevent pathogenic
growth and compete
for space
Barriers in plants
Barrier type Description
Physical Barriers that prevent
pathogens from entering
the organism
Chemical Barriers that involve
production of chemicals
that affect the growth of
pathogens and
development of pathogens.
9C The second line of defence
- Second line defence is non-specific. This means that its components act and respond
in the same way to different pathogens. Second line defence responds to injury or
antigens really quickly.
respiratory)
- Mucous secretions
that trap organisms
and cilia that swep
them away from the
airways
- Presence of
lysozyme enzymes in
tears and saliva that
destroy bacterial cell
walls
- Stomach acid that
destroys pathogens.
- Sweat that destroys
pathogens on
surface of the body
- Prescence of
bacteria on the skin
Examples
- Wavy cuticles of
plants
- Thick bark
- Formation of galls
- Presence of thorns
to deter pathogens
- Oxalic acid- a
substance that can
be toxic if ingested
- Saponins- disrupt
the cell membranes
of various fungi
Cellular components of the innate immune response
Phagocytes
- There are three types of phagocytes- neutrophils, macrophages and dendritic cells.
Phagocytes are cells that partake in phagocytosis, a process in which they consume
and destroy foreign or dead materials present in the body by engulfing it., Once
engulfed, lysosomes present in cell destroy foreign material.
- Dendritic cells and macrophages are antigen presenting cells. These cells not only
consume and destroy foreign material, but also present antigens from consuming
material on their surface. Dendritic cells found near body’s surfaces.
Natural killer cells
- Natural killer cells are part of innate immune response. They recognise viral antigens
and release cytotoxic chemicals that disrupt the infected cell’s membrane, triggering
apoptosis.
Mast cells
- Mast cells are involved in inflammation. They release histamine when they detect
injury to surrounding cells. Histamine has a number of effects on the body and is
particular important in the inflammatory response.
Interferons
- When a cell is infected with virus it releases cytokines called interferons. These
interferons interact with receptors on neighbouring cells, causing them to undergo a
number of changes that make them less susceptible to viral infection. This helps to
stop the virus from spreading between cells.
Complement protein
There are three major outcomes of the complement cascade:
1. Opsonisation of pathogens- complement proteins stick to outside surface of
pathogens and make it easier for cells of the immune system, such as phagocytes to
recognise them as foreign.
2. Chemoattraction of phagocytes- complement proteins gather near a pathogen and
attract phagocytes to it making it more likely to be destroyed.
3. Destruction of bacterial pathogens via membrane attack complexes (MACS)-
complement proteins join together on the surface of bacteria and make pores in the
bacterial membrane to cause lysis and kill them.
Venom inhibitors
Venom inhibitors exist in the blood and bind with snake/ spider venom, preventing it from
reacting with cells in the body and causing damage.

Steps in the inflammatory system.

The inflammatory response is designed to eliminate the effects of an injury and clear out
cells that may have been damaged or destroyed and initiate repair.
There are three main aspects of the inflammatory response you need to know- initiation,
vasodilation and migration.

Initiation
- Imagine a splinter piercing the skin, damaging cells and introducing bacteria to the
wound. In response to this, damaged cells release cytokines and mast cells
degranulate, releasing histamine.
Vasodilation
 - The histamine released from the mast cells travel to nearby blood vessels where it
causes vasodilation. This means that the blood vessels become bigger, and the vessel
walls become more permeable through the formation of gaps. This increases blood
flow to the injured site and is therefore the reason behind the swelling and redness.

Migration
- Vasodilation and increased leakiness of blood vessels allow for a number of innate
immune system components to leave the bloodstream and enter the site of injury.
- Complement proteins are attracted to pathogens and make it easier for phagocytes
to destroy them.
- Platelets travel to the wound and stop active bleeding.

Summary of the components of the second line of defence and their roles

9D the third line of defence

The first line is a key component. It is designed to combat and destroy pathogens that have
breached the first line of defence. There are two different types of responses to pathogens-
the humoral and cell mediated responses.

They are:
1. Specificity- the adaptive immune responds to each type of pathogen in a highly
tailored way.
2. The formation of immunological memory- the adaptive immune system results in the
creative of cells that allow the body to respond to future re infections by a previously
encountered pathogen more quickly and effectively.

Initiation of the adaptive immune response

A key process in the initiation of the two adaptive immune responses is the selection of a T
lymphocyte called a T helper cell via a process called antigen presentation. This process is
shown in Figure 2.

After engulfing and digesting a pathogen, antigen presenting cells present foreign antigens
on their surface using MHC II proteins. This complex interacts with T cell receptors on the
surface of T helper cells, each of which displays a T cell receptor that is slightly different in
shape. When an APC presents an antigen to a T helper cell that is complementary in shape
to the T cell receptor, the T helper cell becomes activated. This activated T helper cell then
helps initiate the processes of humoral and cell mediated immunity.

Humoral immune response

Humoral immunity involves the neutralisation and or destruction of a pathogen via the
production and secretion of antibodies. The response is generated by interactions between
T helper cells and B lymphocytes.

1. B lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell that circulate around the body. Their
surfaces are covered in B cell receptors, also known as antibodies. They travel
around the body in bloodstream, and reside in high numbers in the lymph nodes.
2. A pathogen with an antigen that matches the antigen binding site on the receptor of
a B cell interacts with that B cell. When this happens, the B cell is said to have been
selected.
3. Once a B cell has been selected, a T helper cell with a matching receptor to the
antigen will recognise the selected B cell and secrete a number of different
cytokines. These cytokines cause the B cell to undergo a clonal expansion in which
many of the copies of the selected B cells is produced. The selection and expansion
processes are referred to as clonal selection.
4. In addition to cloning, the T helper cell also causes the B cell to undergo the process
of differentiation in which the clones of the selected B cells are driven to
differentiate into two different types of B cells- B memory cells and plasma cells.
 B memory cells are copies of the selected B cell that reside in the body for a long
period of time and are responsible for immunological memory.

The majority of selected B cell clones differentiate into plasma cells. Being clones of
the originally selected B cells, plasma cells have the same antibody on their surface.
Plasma cells don’t just keep these antibodies on their surface, instead they secrete
antibodies into the blood.

Antibodies
Antibodies are proteins comprised of four polypeptide chains, including two heavy chains
and two light chains. These two heavy chains are joined by a disulphide bridge. Each
antibody has a constant region and a variable region. Like T cells, each B cell produces
receptors with a slightly different shape that is part of the variable region and is
complementary in shape to a specific antigen.

Step 5: Antibodies that have been secreted travel throughout the body and eventually come
into contact with the pathogen that was originally presented to the selected B cell. Due the
process of clonal selection, these antibodies have a shape that is specific to the pathogen
and complementary to its antigens.

Antibodies interact with pathogenic antigens in a number of key qays

1. Neutralisation: antibodies block the sites of pathogens that are used to attack host
cells and block active sites of toxins.
2. Immobilisation- antibodies immobilise pathogens.
3. Agglutination- antibodies can bind together with antigens on two separate pathogen
surfaces, forming large antigen antibody complexes. This process makes it easier for
phagocytes to recognise the pathogens as foreign bodies and destroy them.
4. Opsonisation- antibodies can bind directly to the surface of a pathogen to make it
easier to phagocytose.
5. Activation of complement proteins- antibodies attached to the surface of pathogens
can facilitate the actions of complement proteins, including the formation of
membrane attack complexes.

Cell mediated immunity

Cell mediated immunity involves the destruction of infected or abnormal cells via the clonal
selection of T cytotoxic cells. This cell specifically recognises the abnormal antigen being
presented by the cell.
1. Antigen presenting cells present digested foreign antigens on their surface MHC II.
These cells then travel throughout the body and arrive at a lymph node.
2. In a similar way to activation of T helper cells, these cells may eventually come upon
a naïve T cell with a T cell receptor that matches the antigens being presented. If this
occurs, these naïve T cells become activated and stimulated further by cytokines
secreted by T helper cells and undergo process of clonal selection and
differentiation.
 3. The clones of the selected T cell are driven by the T helper cell to differentiate into
two different types of T cells- cytotoxic T cells and T memory cells. T memory cells
like B memory cells are copies of the originally selected T cell that reside in the body
for extended periods of time and help form immunological memory.

4. Due to selection and coning, the cytotoxic T cells that arrive at the infected site have
T cell receptors that are specific to the foreign antigen present. MHC I also displays
antigens that have been broken down in a cell on the cell’s surface.

5. Once the cytotoxic T cell has found an abnormal cell that is presenting foreign
antigens on its MHC I complex, it binds to it via interactions between its T cell
receptor and the antigen MHC I complex. It then secretes chemicals that induce
apoptosis.

Lymphatic system

Functions
- The transportation of antigen presenting cells to secondary lymphoid tissues for
antigen recognition and initiation of the adaptive immune response
- The production of leukocytes, including lymphocytes
- The removal of fluid from tissues around the body
How the lymphatic system works
1. Lymphatic drainage. Fluid from blood vessels leaks into the tissues of the body. The
leakage is dramatically increased during an inflammatory response. If fluid is
constantly leaking into tissues, it doesn’t swell up.
- Lymphatic capillaries are extremely small vessels that exist throughout the tissues of
the body that collect fluid in tissues, as well as any pathogens that might be present,
to drain into the capillaries. Once this clear fluid enters the lymphatic capillaries it is
called lymph and is carried away into the lymphatic system where it eventually
arrives at a lymph node.
2. Lymphatic flow: the small lymphatic capillaries throughout the body gradually join
together to form larger and larger vessels that contain an increasing amount of
lymph. These vessels have thin walls and rely on muscle movements to squeeze
lymph fluid. Lymph fluid only moves in one direction.
3. Lymphatic surveillance: lymph is delivered to lymph nodes through afferent
lymphatic vessels and drains through clusters of B and T cells. It is here, as the lymph
drains through these clusters, that antigen presenting cells and pathogens are most
likely to meet up with a lymphocyte that has a matching antigen binding site and
stimulate the process of clonal selection.