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TheImmuneSystem
Therearephysical,chemical,andcellulardefensesagainstinvasionbyviruses,bacteria,andotheragentsofdisease.
Duringtheearlystagesofaninfection,thereisaninflammatoryresponse
Nonspecificattack
Phagocytesactive("eat"pathogen)
Duringlaterstages,leucocytesproduceimmuneresponses
Antigenaforeignsubstancewhichtriggersanimmuneresponse
SomeWBC'sproduceantibodiesinhugeamounts
Antibodiessubstanceswhichbindtospecificantigensandtagthemfordestruction
OtherWBC's(executionercells)directlydestroybodycells

Surfacecoveragethefirstlineofdefense
Thebodyisprotectedfrompathogensbytheskinandmucousmembranes
Skindeadcellularlayerdry,lowpH
Mucousmembranescontainlysozymes(enzymeswhichbreakdownbacteria)
Othercellscontainciliawhichfilterpathogensandparticulates
Breaksintheprotectivebarrier
Digestiveopenings
Reproductiveopenings
Respiratoryopenings
SensoryOrgans

Nonspecificresponsesthesecondlineofdefense
Nonspecificresponsesaregeneralizedresponsestopathogeninfectiontheydonottargetaspecificcelltype
ThenonspecificresponseconsistofsomeWBC'sandplasmaproteins
Phagocytescellswhich"eat"foreignmaterialtodestroythem
Phagocytesareformedfromstemcellsinbonemarrow(stemcellsareundifferentiatedWBC's)
Neutrophilphagocytizebacteria
Eosinophilssecreteenzymestokillparasiticwormsamongotherpathogins
Macrophage"bigeaters"phagocytizejustaboutanything

Macrophagedestroyingbacterialcells
Nonphagocyticleucocytes
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Basophilcontaingranulesoftoxicchemicalsthatcandigestforeignmicroorganisms.Thesearecells
involvedinanallergicresponse
MastCellssimilartobasophils,mastcellscontainavarietyofinflammatorychemicalsincludinghistamine
andseratonin.Causebloodvesselsnearwoundtoconstrict.
Complementproteinsplasmaproteinswhichhavearoleinnonspecificandspecificdefenses

Formacascadeeffectifonlyafewareactivated,theywilltriggerotherstobecomeactiveingreatnumbers
Somepunchholesinbacterialwalls(formsholeswherecellularcomponentsleakout)
Somepromoteinflammation
Concentrationgradientsattractphagocytestoirritatedordamagedtissue
Encouragephagocytosisinphagocytes(promotes"eating")
Somebindtothesurfaceofinvadingorganisms
Chemokinescreateachemicalgradienttoattractneutrophilsandotherleucocytestothewoundsite
Inflammation

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Causeslocalizedredness,swelling,heat,andpain
ChangesincapillarywallstructureallowinterstitialfluidandWBC'stoleakoutintissue
Promotesmacrophage(phagocyticWBC's)activity
MacrophagessecreteInterleukins(communicationproteinsamongWBC's)
Interleukin1:increasesbodytemperature(i.e.causesafever)
ThisenhancestheWBC'sabilitytoprotectthebody
Causesdrowsinessreducesthebody'senergyusageandstress

TheImmuneSystem(SpecificResponses)thethirdlineofdefense
Calledintoactionwhennonspecificmethodsarenotenoughandinfectionbecomeswidespread
Typesofcellsinvolvedintheimmunesystem:
Macrophagesengulfforeignobjects
InformTlymphocytesataspecificantigenispresent
HelperTcellsproduceandsecretechemicalswhichpromotelargenumbersofeffectorandmemorycells
CytotoxicTcellsTlymphocytesthateliminateinfectedbodycellsandtumorcells
Bcellsproduceantibodies(secretetheminthebloodorpositionthemontheircellsurfaces)
Eachtypeofvirus,bacteria,orotherforeignbodyhasmolecularmarkerswhichmakeitunique
Hostlymphocytes(i.e.thoseinyourbody)canrecognizeselfproteins(i.e.thosewhicharenotforeign)
Whenanonself(foreign)bodyisdetected,mitoticactivityinBandTlymphocytesisstimulated
Whilemitosisisoccurring,thedaughterpopulationsbecomesubdivided
Effectorcellswhenfullydifferentiated,theywillseekanddestroyforeign
Memorycellsbecomedormant,butcanbetriggeredtorapidmitosisifpathogenencounteredagain
Thus,immunologicalspecificityandmemoryinvolvethreeevents:
(1)Recognitionofaspecificinvader
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(2)Repeatedcelldivisionsthatformhugelymphocytepopulations
(3)Differentiationintosubpopulationsofeffectorandmemorycells
Antigenanonselfmarkerthattriggerstheformationoflymphocytearmies
Antibodiesmoleculeswhichbindtoantigensandarerecognizedbylymphocytes
Antigenpresentingcellamacrophagewhichdigestsaforeigncell,butleavestheantigensintact.Itthenbindsthese
antigenstoMHCmoleculesonitscellmembrane.TheantigenMHCcomplexesarenoticedbycertainlymphocytes
(recognition)whichpromotescelldivision(repeatedcelldivisions)

Molecularcuesthatstimulatelypmphocytestocreateanimmuneresponse
Tcells(HelperTcellsandCytotoxicTcells)
Tcellsarisefromstemcellsinthebonemarrowtheythentraveltothethymuswherethedifferentiateandmature.
Atmaturity,theyacquirereceptorsforselfmarkers(MHCmolecules)andforantigenspecificreceptors.Theyare
thenreleasedintothebloodas"virgin"Tcells.
TcellsignoreothercellswithMHCmoleculesandtheyignorefreefloatingantigens.However,theywillbindwitha
antigenpresentingmacrophage(amacrophagepossessingaMHCantigencomplex).Thisbindingpromotesrapid
celldivisionanddifferentiationintoeffectorandmemorycells(allwithreceptorsfortheantigen)
EffectorhelperTcellssecreteinterlukins(stimulatebothTandBcellstodivideanddifferentiate)
EffectorcytotoxicTcellsrecognizeinfectedcellswiththeMHCantigencomplex.Theythendestroythecellwith
perforans(enzymeswhichperforatethecellmembrane,allowingcytoplasmtoleakout)andothertoxinswhich
attackorganellesandDNA
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Cellmediatedimmuneresponse
BcellsandAntibodies
Bcellsalsoarisefromstemcellsinthebonemarrow.Astheydevelopandmature,theystartsynthesizingasingle
typeofantibody
Antibodiesareproteinswhichrecognizeantigens
ThevirginBcellproducesantibodieswhichmovetothecellsurfaceandstickout
TheBcellfloatsinthebloodwhenitencountersthespecificantigenitbecomesprimedforreplication
TheBcellmustreceiveaninterleukinsignalfromahelperTcellwhichhasalreadybecomeactivatedbya
macrophagewithaMHCantigencomplex.Thispromotesrapidcelldivision.
TheBcellpopulationthendifferentiatesintoeffectorandmemoryBcells
TheeffectorBcellsthenproduceastaggeringamountoffreefloatingantibodies
Whenthesefreefloatingantibodiesencounteranantigen,theytagitfordestructionbyphagocytesand
complementaryproteins
Thesetypesofresponsesareonlygoodforextracellulartoxinsandpathogenstheycannotdetectpathogens
ortoxinslocatedinsideofacell

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Antibodymediatedimmuneresponse
Wheredoalloftheseinteractionstakeplace?inthelymphnodes.

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