Antigen

“substances immunogenes or
antigenes”
It is a foreign substance from the
environment that enters your body
that can cause disease or damage
to the tissues of the body
 Properties of Antigen

1. Foreigness and Genetic Composition

2. Chemical Composition and complexity

3. molecular size and stability

4. mode of entry of the antigen

The Immune System

Primary Secondar
lymphoid y
organs Lymphoid
Organs
•Thymus
•Bones •Spleen
•Lymph
nodes
• B Lymphocytes • T Lymphocytes

Primary
• recognised Lymphoid
antigens Organs
• recognised antigens
and produced special on pathogens and
chemicals called either attack them
antibodies. directly or coordinate
the activity of other
cells of the immune
system.
 Bone Marrow
-where the blood cells
originate

01 02

Thymus
It is where the T cells become
mature and competent
 site from where blood cells
Bone
originate
Marrow

makes and trains special

Thymus
WBC called T cells

These are where antigens

periphera
are trapped.
lymphoid
glnds
Cells of the Immune System

01
Neutrophil
Small
-first to enter infected tissues

02
Lymphocytes
T cells, B cells, NK cells.
03
Monocytes and Macrophages
Monocytes circulate in blood for 13 days
macrophages- “big eater”

04
Eosinophils
Major basic protein that is toxic to parasites
05
Basophils.
release enzymes to improve blood flow and prevent
blood clots
06
Natural Killer Cells (NK cells)
-can detect and destroy abnormal tissue cells(cancer)
as well as virus infected cells.
 Innate
Immunity
“innate refers to the fact 1. first line of defense
that the responses do “host barriers”
not require time to
develop”
2. Second line of
defense
they are ready to go “phagocytosis and
inflammation”
 Adaptive
“adaptive” refers tonthe • Specifity- recognized
Immunity
fact that it takes time to a particular substance
produce this response.
If the innate immunity • Memory- “remember”
can not control and
eliminate the pathogens
it initiates and mediates
the adaptive immune
response
 Antibodies
• special Y shaped proteins
produced by B-
lymphocytes in response
to antigens.

• antibodies are located in

various areas of your
body includes your skin,
tears, saliva, lungs, and
even “breastmilk”
Immunoglobulins(Ig)
IgA
protects against ingested and inhaled pathogens

IgD
supports B cells maturation and activation

IgE
cause mast cells to release histamines and other
chemicals into your bloodstream
IgG
Helps protect your body from vural and bacterial
infections
IgM
act as a first line of defense against infections.
• Primary Response • Secondary
• - normally takes 3-14 Response(Memory B
days to produces cells)
enough antibodies to • formation of new
be affective against memory cells which
antigens provide protecttion
against additional
exposure to a specific
antigen.
 Cell-mediated immunity
T h e N e w
C o r o n a v i
r u s
 Provide resistance and aid in recovery from
infections due to intracellular organisms
 Important defense against fungi, parasite, and
bacteria
 Involved transplant and graft rejection
 Main defense against tumor cell
Helper T cells are CD4+ and have several
important subsets.

• Th1 acts on first exposure to an antigen and is

responsible for stimulating inflamation, delayed type
hypersensitivity and synthesis of igG and igM.
• Th2 is activated on re-exposure to the same
antigen and is involved in stimulating class switching
to form other antibodies.
• Th17 function to recruit neutrophils leading to
inflammation.
 CD4+ T cells act to stimulate differentiation of
B cells to antibody - producing plasma cells
and activate cytotoxic T cells.
 CD4+ CD25+ T cells are the regulatory cells
which forms part of the body's immune
surveillance.
 Cytotoxic T cells are CD8+ and are the body's
main defensese against intracellular
organisms such as viruses and tumor cells.
 Complement System

 Composed of various proteins that

are activated or cleaved in a
sequential manner. It consist of
three pathways
 Alternative or properdin pathway is the first to be activated
on exposure to an antigen. It main activator is bacterial
products such as endotoxins.

 Mannose binding lectin pathway is activated upon

recognition of specific patterns of sugar round on the cell wall
of bacteria. There are two pattern recognition receptors
involved in the pathway:
• Lectin- which recognizes mannose containing
sugars.
• Ficolin- which recognizes other patterns of
sugar.

 Classical pathways is the last to be activated upon antigen

exposure. It is triggered by antigen- antibody complex.
 Hypersensitivity

 Hypersensitivity reactions are

exagerrated immune responses
that lead to tissue damage and
injury.
 Type I hypersensitivity is mediated by IgE and is
commonly known as allergy. The effector cells are mast
cell and the predominant inflammatory cells are the
eosinophils.

 Type II hypersensitivity is called antibody-mediated

hypersensitivity.

 Type III hypersensitivity is immune complex mediated

hypersensitivity.

 Type IV hypersensitivity reaction is the T cell mediated

hypersensitivity reaction which involves either CD4+ T cells
and CD8+ T cells.