BASIC IMMUNOLOGY

dr. Fitriyah Mayorita, Sp.PK

 The Nomenclature

• Immunity: is defined as resistance to disease, specifically

infectious disease.
• Immune system: is the collection of cells, tissues, and
molecules that mediate resistance to infections.
• Immune response: is the coordinated of these cells and
molecules to infectious microbes.
• Immunology: is the study of the immune system and its
responses to invading pathogens.
The Importance of the immune system
General properties of the immune responses

• Host defense mechanisms consist of:

• Innate immunity
• Adaptive immunity
 Innate Immunity

• Also called natural or native immunity.

• Mediates the initial protection against infections.
• Always present in in healthy individuals, prepared to
block the entry of microbes and to rapidly eliminate
microbes that do succeed in entering host tissues.
 Adaptive Immunity

• Also called specific or acquired immunity.

• Develops more slowly and mediates the later, even more
effective , defense against infections.
• Stimulated by microbes that invade tissues, that is, it
adapts to the presence of microbial invaders.
The principle mechanisms of innate and adaptive
immunity
The Innate Immunity
 Components of innate immunity

• External barriers: epithelial barriers

• Phagocytes: neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages
• The complement system
• Cytokines on innate immunity
• Other plasma proteins of innate immunity
 External barriers

• Epithelial barrier (skin, GIT, respiratory tract).

• Functions of epithelia in innate immunity.
 Other external barriers

• Direct inhibitory effects of lactic acid and fatty acids in

sweat and sebaceous secretions and the low pH which
they generate.
• Mucus, secreted by the membranes lining the inner
surfaces of the body, acts as a protective barrier to
block the adherence of bacteria to epithelial cells.
Phagocytes: Neutrophils and Monocytes/Macrophages

• Are circulating phagocytes, recruited to sites of infection,

recognize and ingest microbes for intracellular killing.
• Migrate to extravascular sites of infection by binding to
endothelial molecules and in response to
chemoattractant that are produced on encounter with
microbes.
The sequence of events in the migration of blood leukocytes
to sites of infection
Neutrophils & macrophages recognize microbes in the blood &
extravaxcular tissues by surface receptors that are spesific for
microbial products
The specificity of innate immunity & adaptive immunity
The recognition of microbes leads phagocytosis of the microbes
and activation of the phagocytes to kill the ingested microbes
 Natural Killer (NK) Cells
• Are cells of lymphocytes that respond to intracellular
microbes by killing infected cells and by producing the
macrophage-activating cytokine, IFN-γ.
 The complement system

• Is a collection of circulating and membrane-associated

proteins that are important in defense against microbes
• Many are proteolytic enzymes.
• Its activation involves the sequential activation of
enzymatic cascade.
Pathways of complement activation
 Cytokines of innate immunity

• Cytokines are soluble proteins that mediate immune

and inflammatory reactions and are responsible for
communications between leukocytes and between
leuckocytes and other cells.
• Most are called interleukin.
• In innate immunity, the principal sources of cytokines
are from activated macrophages.
 Other plasma proteins of innate immunity

• Circulating proteins other than complement proteins

that involved in defense against infection.
• Increases rapidly after infection.
• The protective response is called the acute phase
response.
The Adaptive Immunity
 Types of adaptive immunity

• Humoral immunity: mediated by antibodies.

• Cell-mediated immunity: mediated by lymphocytes T.

 Properties of Adaptive Immune Response

Property Significance for immunity to microbes

Specificity Ability to recognize and respond to many
different microbes
Memory Enhanced responses to recurrent or
persistent infections
Specialization Responses to distinct microbes are optimized
for defense against these microbes
Nonreactivity to self Prevents injurious immune responses against
antigen host cells and tissues
Specifity

• Is the ability to distinguish at least a billion different

antigens or portions of antigens.

• The basis of this specificity and diversity is that

lymphocyte consists of many different clones (each is
made up of one cell and its progeny), and each clone
expresses an antigen receptor that is different in from
receptors of all other clones.
The Clonal Selection Hypothesis
 Memory

• Memory cells are made from naive lymphocytes that

were introduced and activated in first exposure to
antigen in primary immune response.
• Memory cells were activated as respond to subsequent
encounters with the same antigen (secondary immune
response).
• Secondary immune responses, are usually more rapid,
larger & better to eliminate antigen.
Primary & Secondary Immune Responses
 Phases of Immune Responses

• Consist of sequential phases: antigen recognition,

activation of lymphocytes, elimination of antigen,
decline, and memory.
• Each phase corresponds to particular reactions of
lymphocytes & other components of the immune
system.
The two-signal requirement for lymphocyte activation
 Cells of the Immune System

• Consist of lymphocytes, which is the specialized cells

that capture and display microbial antigens, and
effector cells that eliminate microbes.
• Antigen-presenting cells.
• Effector cells
Lymphocytes

Principal function(s) Cell type

• Specific recognition of
antigens
• B lymphocytes: mediators
of humoral immunity
• T lymphocytes: mediators
of cell-mediated immunity
• Natural killer cells: cells of
innate immunity
Classes of Lymphocytes
 Antigen-Presenting Cells

Principal function(s) Cell type

• Capture of antigens for display

to lymphocytes
• Dendritic cells: initiation of T
cell responses
• Macrophages: initiation and
effector phase of cell-mediated
immunity
• Follicular dendritic cells: display
of antigens to B lymphocytes in
humoral immune responses
 Effector Cells

Principal function(s) Cell type

• Elimination of antigens:
• T lymphocytes: helper T cells
& cytolytic T lymphocytes
• Macrophages & monocytes:
cells of the mononuclear
phagocyte system
• Granulocytes: neutrophils,
eosinophils
 Tissues of the Immune System

• Generative (primary/central) lymphoid organs, (T and B

lymphocytes mature & become competent to respond
to antigens)
• Peripheral (secondary) lymphoid organs (adaptive
immune responses to microbes are initiated.
Maturation of Lymphocytes
 Peripheral Lymphoid Organs

Lymph nodes
The segregation of T & B lymphocytes in different regions
of peripheral lymphoid organs
Recirculation of T lymphocytes
THANK YOU
 Reference

• Abbas AK, Lichtman AH. Basic Immunology Functions

and Disorders of the Immune System. 2nd ed. Saunders.
2004