Innate Immunity Components

Immunology is the science that is concerned with immune response to foreign challenges.
Immunity is typically divided into two categories-innate and adaptive immunity.
Innate immunity
 Innate (native/natural) immunity is present since birth and consists of many factors that
are relatively nonspecific that is, it operates against almost any foreign molecules and
pathogens.
 It provides the first line of defense against pathogens.
 It also does not rely on previous exposure to a pathogen and response is functional since
birth and has no memory.
Elements/Components
1. Physical Barriers

• Skin and Mucous Membranes:- The first line of defense against microorganisms.

• Skin Integrity:- Intact skin prevents the entry of most organisms, but damage
cancompromise its effectiveness.
• Sweat and Sebaceous Secretions:- Acidic pH, fatty acids, and lysozyme inhibit
microorganism growth.
• Mucous Membranes:- Line respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, trapping foreign
microorganisms.

• Cilia:- Hair-like projections in the respiratory tract propel trapped microorganisms out. •
Conjunctiva: Mucus-secreting membrane in the eyes, continuously flushed by tears
containing protective substances like lysozyme and IgA.

Chemical Mediators

• Chemical Defense:- Various chemicals play a role in protecting against microbes before
adaptive immunity develops.

• Innate Immune Molecules:- Complement proteins, cytokines, pattern recognition

molecules,acute-phase proteins, cationic peptides, lysozyme, and more.

3. Complement Proteins

Soluble Proteins/Glycoproteins:- Synthesized mainly by the liver and circulate in blood and
extracellular fluid.

• Amplification and Complement Action: Complement proteins amplify and complement the
immune response, hence the name.

• Bridge Between Innate and Adaptive Immunity:- The complement system connects both
immunity types.
• Immune Complex Removal: It helps remove immune complexes from the body.

• Cascade Activation: Response to certain microorganisms triggers a controlled enzymatic

cascade, targeting the membranes of pathogens and leading to their destruction.

4. Cytokines

• Cytokines are low molecular weight soluble proteins or glycoproteins released by one cell
population.

• They act as intercellular mediators and encompass various types, including monokines,
lymphokines, Interleukins, interferons, and others.

• Cytokines play a crucial role in immunoregulation, influencing both innate and adaptive
immune responses.

• Interferons are a specific type of cytokines produced by cells in response to virus infections.

• Chemokines are small, positively charged secreted proteins with a central role in guiding
the
migrations of white blood cells.

• They bind to the surface of endothelial cells and negatively charged proteoglycans in
organs.

• Chemokines interact with G-protein-linked receptors on specific blood cells to attract them
from blood stream to organ.

5. Cellular Defenses:

1. Specialized Cell Types:-Neutrophils, macrophages, monocytes, and natural killer cells

are key participants in innate host defense mechanisms.

2. Phagocytosis:- These specialized cells carry out phagocytosis, which is the ingestion of

invading foreign particles such as bacteria. Phagocytic cells include neutrophils,

macrophages,

monocytes, and dendritic cells.

3. Macrophages:- Macrophages are long-lived cells that reside in tissues throughout the body.

patrolling and protecting against pathogens.

4. Neutrophils:- Neutrophils, abundant in blood, are short-lived cells primarily found in the
bloodstream and are mobilized in response to infections.

5. Phagolysosome Formation: After ingestion, the foreign particle is enclosed in a

phagocytic

vacuole (phagosome), which fuses with lysosomes to form the phagolysosome for digestion.

Inflammatory Barriers:

1 Inflammation:- Inflammation is a nonspecific defense reaction to cell injury and infection,

characterized by pain, redness, swelling, and heat.

2. Erythema:- Increased vascular diameter results in erythema (redness) due to enhanced

blood flow in the inflamed area, contributing to heat and redness.

3. Vascular Permeability:- Inflammation increases the permeability of blood vessels to fluid

and proteins, causing local swelling and an accumulation of blood proteins that aid in
defense.

4. Cell Adhesion Proteins:- Endothelial cells lining local blood vessels express cell adhesion
proteins that facilitate the attachment and movement of white blood cells (neutrophils,
lymphocytes, monocytes) into the surrounding tissue (extravasation).

5. Chemokines:- Activated macrophages produce chemokines, attracting neutrophils to the

site of infection as the first line of defense. Monocytes and dendritic cells are recruited later.

6. Antigen Presentation:- Dendritic cells pick up antigens from invading pathogens and
transport them to nearby lymph nodes, where they present the antigens to lymphocytes,
initiating the adaptive immune response.

7. Mediators:- Key signaling molecules in the inflammatory response include histamine

(released in response to tissue injury) and kinins (present in blood plasma). Both cause
vasodilation and Increased capillary permeability, with kinins also inducing pain associated
with inflammation.
Adaptive immunity
Adaptive immunity, also known as acquired immunity, is capable of recognizing and
selectively eliminating specific foreign antigens. It does not come into play until there is an
antigenic challenge to the organism. Adaptive immunity display four characteristic features:

1. Antigenic specificity:-It is the ability to discriminate among different epitopes/antigens,

2. Immunologic memory:-It is the ability to recali previous contact with a foreign molecule
and respond to it in a learned manner-that is, with a more rapid and larger response. Diversity

3.Diversity:- The ability to respond to many different epitopes even if the individual has not
previously encountered them.

4. Self/non-self recognition:-It is the ability to recognize and respond to molecules that are
foreign and to avoid making a response to those molecules that are self.

Difference between the innate and Adaptive immune response

Innate Adaptive
Antigen non specific Antigen specific
Rapid response (hours) Slow response (days)
No Memory Memory,response to repeated infection is identical to primary
response

Adaptive immunity may be active or passive

Active Immunity:
1. Active immunity can be either natural or artificial.
2. It is induced when a person is exposed to a pathogen naturally or through vaccination.
3. In active immunity, an individual's immune system generates its own immune response
against the microbe
Passive Immunity:-
1. Passive immunity can also be either natural or artificial.
2. It occurs when antibodies or immune cells are transferred from an immune individual to
a non-immune individual.
3. Natural passive immunity involves the transfer of antibodies from one host to another.
4. Artificial passive immunity occurs when antibodies or lymphocytes produced outside the
host are introduced into a host