to eliminate the pathogen and prevent

ELEMENTS OF THE disease.

IMMUNE SYSTEM
Definition of Terms • Immune recognition is remarkable for
“specificity”
Immunology – the study of the immune
system, including its responses to microbial
pathogens, and damaged tissues and its
role in disease. FUNCTIONS OF THE
Immune system – a biological structures IMMUNE SYSTEM
and processes within an organism that 1) To discriminate between self and non –
mediate resistance to infections by self
identifying and killing pathogens and tumor A. To protect from pathogens
cells. • Intracellular pathogens –
Immune response – collective and organisms that can grow and
coordinate response to the introduction of reproducing inside host cells
foreign substances in an individual • Extracellular pathogens – do not
mediated by the cells and molecules of the invade cells
immune system.
Immunity came from the Latin word
“’immunis’’ which means “’exempt’’ -
referring to protection against foreign
agents.

Definition:
The integration body system of
organs, tissues, cells and cell
products that differentiates self from
non – self and neutralizes potentially
pathogenic organisms

• Immune system is a remarkably versatile

defense system that has evolved to protect
animals from invading pathogenic
microorganisms and cancer. B. To eliminate modified or altered self
• A highly discriminatory immune system is
fundamental to survival. 2) Development of immunological
Immune Response can be divided into two memory as the basis for vaccine
related activities: efficacy
✓ Immunological memory is the ability
a) Recognition – for specificity of the immune system to quickly and
b) Response – effector and memory specifically recognize an antigen
that the body has previously
• Effector response – to eliminate or encountered and initiate a
neutralize the organism. corresponding Immune response
• Memory response - rapid and 3) Therapeutic intervention for immune
heightened immune reaction that serves based diseases
Lupus – Allergy - Rheumatoid arthritis
 THE BAD AND UGLY SIDE challenge to clinicians who treat these
patients.
OF IMMUNE SYSTEM
Immunodeficiency and dysfunction as the
basis of disease Role of the Implications
Immune system
✓ Immunodeficiency diseases occurs
Defense against Deficient immunity
as the result of the absence
infections results in increased
(congenital or acquired) of one or
susceptibility to
more elements of the immune
infections;
system.
exemplified by
Immune dysfunction – occurs as a result of AIDS
improper regulation that allows the
immune system to either attack something Vaccination boosts
it shouldn’t or fail to attack something it immune defenses
should. and protects
against infections
➢ Most instances of immune dysfunction
Defense against Potential for
or failure fall into one of the following
tumors immunotherapy of
three broad categories:
cancer
a) Hypersensitivity (including allergy):
The immune Immune responses
overly zealous attacks on common
system can injure are the cause of
benign but foreign antigens
cells and induce allergic,
b) Autoimmune Disease – erroneous
pathologic autoimmune, and
targeting of self-proteins or tissues
inflammation other inflammatory
by immune cells
diseases
c) Immune Deficiency – insufficiency of
The immune Immune responses
the immune response to protect
system recognizes are barriers to
against infectious agents
and responds to transplantation and
d) Immune Imbalance – dysregulation
tissue grafts and gene therapy
in the immune system that leads to
newly introduced
aberrant activity of immune cells,
proteins
especially enhanced inflammation
and/or and reduced immune
inhibition
Cancer or Malignancy – occurs in host cells
when they begin to divide out of control.
Present unique challenges to clinicians,
because the healthy immune system
typically rejects or destroys non self-
proteins, such as those encountered in
most transplant situations, and tolerates
self-cells.
➢ The immune response renders “Tissue
transplantation” challenging.

✓ The fact that the immune system will

attack and reject any transplanted
organ that is non-self, or not a genetic
match, raises a formidable barrier to
this potentially lifesaving treatment,
presenting a particularly unique