Chapter 1

Dr. Capers
IRSC
 Kindt • Goldsby • Osborne

Kuby IMMUNOLOGY
Sixth Edition

Chapter 1
Overview of the Immune System

Copyright © 2007 by W. H. Freeman and Company

 Discipline of immunology grew out of observation
that individuals who recovered from infectious
diseases were protected from disease

 15th Century
 Chinese and Turks tried to prevent smallpox
 Dried crust from pustules were inhaled or inserted into small
cuts
 1718
 Lady Montagu had that technique done in her children
 1798
 Edward Jenner
 Noticed that milkmaids that contracted cowpox were
immune to smallpox
 Innoculated small boy with fluid from cowpox pustule
 He then intentionally infected the boy with smallpox –
the child did not develop smallpox
 1881
 Louis Pasteur
 Vaccinated sheep with heat-attenuated anthrax
 Then infected sheep with virulent strain of anthrax – they
did not develop anthrax
 1977
 Last known naturally acquired case of smallpox
 Is it still a threat?
 In industrialized nations, measles, mumps,
whooping cough, tetanus, polio, and diptheria
are extremely rare or nonexistent
 This is due to vaccines!
 Prevent death, paralysis, deafness, blindness, mental
retardation
 1883
 Metchnikoff demonstrated that certain white blood
cells were able to phagocytize microorganisms
 1901
 Von Behring and Kitasato
 Demonstrated that serum (noncellular component of
blood) from animals immunized to diptheria could
transfer that immunity to non-immunized animals
 Immune system evolved to protect
multicellular organisms from pathogens
 Does this by 2 related activites
 Recognition and response
 Innate Immunity
 1st line of defense
 Molecular and cellular mechanisms deployed before an
infection
 Distinguishes between self and pathogens but not
specialized to distinguish small differences in the
foreign particles
 Adaptive Immunity
 Develops in response to infection
 Adapts to recognize, eliminate, and remember
pathogen
 Less specific
 1st line of defense
 Barriers that protect host
 Skin
 Acidity of stomach
 Lysozymes in fluids
 Phagocytic cells
 Antimicrobial peptides (interferons, complement)
 Temperature
 Highly specific
 Characteristic attributes
 Antigenic specificity
 Antibodies can distinguish between 2 proteins that differ
in only 1 amino acid
 Diversity
 Immunologic memory
 Self-nonself recognition
 Effective Immune response involves 2 groups
of cells
 Lymphocytes
 B cells
 T cells
 Antigen-presenting cells
 B cells
 Mature in bone marrow
 Antigen binding receptor – Antibody
 Glycoproteins
 Glycoproteins
 Structure
 2 identical polypeptides – heavy chains
 2 shorter identical polypeptides – light chains
 Antigen coated by antibody is eliminated in
several ways
 Antibody can cross-link several antigens, making it easier
to be ingested by phagocytic cells
 Activate complement system resulting in lysis of
microorganism
 T cells
 Arise in bone marrow but mature in thymus
 2 well define subpopulations of T cells
 T helper cells
 T cytotoxic cells
 T cells
 Can only recognize
antigen bound to cell
membrane proteins
called Major
Histocompatibility
Complex (MHC)

 MHC molecules are

expressed by antigen-
presenting cells
 B cells
 Macrophages
 Dendritic cells
 T cells
 Cytokines secreted by TH cells can activate phagocytic
cells
 TC cells can kill altered self-cells
 Cells infected by viruses
 Tumor cells
 Antigen presenting cell associating with T cell
 Initial encounter with antigen causes primary
response
 Later contact with antigen will result in more
rapid response
 Allergies and Asthma
 Graft rejection
 Autoimmune Disease
 Immunodeficiency