1.

IMMUNE SYSTEM
a. Animals have defense mechanisms against pathogens
i. Pathogens are harmful organisms of viruses that cause diseases
ii. This defense mechanism distinguishes between self (the animals
cells) and nonself (foreign, often pathogen) molecules
1. Autoimmune diseases can not recognize between self and
nonself, so they attack their own tissues
2. Example of autoimmune diseases are lupis and type 1
diabetes
iii. When an animal has immunity, that means that it has sufficient
defenses to avoid invasion by the pathogen
b. Immunity
i. Innate
1. Innate immunity is present before exposure to pathogens,
which means that it is effective from birth
2. The defenses in innate immunity are nonspecific
3. External immunity
a. Barriers keep out pathogens by creating hostile
environments
i. Skin secretions lower skin pH which
discourages microbe colonies by denaturing
the bacteria proteins
b. Mucus lines most body cavities that are exposed to
the external environment
i. It is there for protection (dehydration, stomach
acid, microorganisms like pathogens)
ii. Mucus contains lysozyme, which cuts bacterial
cell walls to cause then to lyse
4. Chemical immunity
a. Proteins such as interferons that defend against
viruses
i. Interferons are secreted by virus-infected cells
and induce neighboring cells to produce
substances that stop viral reproduction and
protect cells from the viruses
5. Cellular immunity
a. White blood cells

i. Basophils are white blood cells that help fight

disease by releasing chemicals like histamine
during inflammation
ii. Phagocytes are white blood cells that bind to
surface proteins and then engulf and destroy
the pathogens
1. Lysosomes bind to the pathogens to
break them down
2. Neutrophils, mast cells, monocytes,
macrophages
a. Macrophages are in both innate
and acquired immunity, and they
also clean up cells that die from
apoptosis
iii. Natural Killer cells
1. Leukocytes that recognize virus infected
and cancerous cells and cause the
targeted cells to undergo apoptosis
6. Inflammation
a. This is when tissue is damaged by infection or injury
and the body responds with inflammation
i. Symptoms include: redness, swelling, pain
due to pressure on nerve endings
b. Inflammation can be both internal and external
c. The purpose is to isolate damaged areas to stop the
spread of necrosis
d. It recruits cells and molecules from other parts of the
body to kill pathogens and to promote healing
e. Pus can accumulate
i. Leaked body fluids and dead cells (bacteria,
white blood cells, and somatic cells
7. Inflammatory Response
a. Mast cells arrive to damaged area and adhere to the
skin or organ linings to release histamine and
prostaglandins
i. Histamine triggers dilation of blood vessels
and an increased permeability of the blood
vessels, which causes swelling and pain

ii. Prostaglandins promote blood flow to the

damaged area which increased the repair of
the tissue and blocks out more infection
iii. The increased blood flow causes redness and
heat
8. Sepsis
a. Inflammation due to bacteria becomes widespread
b. This causes dilation of blood vessels throughout the
body, which causes a dangerous drop in blood
pressure that can be lethal
9. Systemic Response
a. Responds to infection by increasing circulating white
blood cells
b. Also causes fevers
i. Low grade (100 F) fevers stimulate
phagocytosis and speeds up tissue repair,
while destroying some bacteria toxins
ii. High grade (103) fevers denature human
proteins (like brain proteins) and are generally
caused by bacteria and is not a normal immune
response
ii. Acquired
1. Depends on cells called lymphocytes
a. These are white blood cells that are activated by
contact with pathogen antigens (surface proteins or
polysaccharides) or cytokines (which are proteins
secreted by helper T cells)
b. B cells
i. Develop in the bone marrow, and mature in the
bone marrow
ii. Mainly part of antibody mediated immunity
c. T cells
i. Develop in the bone marrow, and mature in the
thymus
ii. Mainly part of the cell mediated immune
response
d. They have specific membrane-bound receptors for the
antigens of specific pathogens

i. Each lymphocyte has only 1 type of receptor

for 1 specific pathogen
2. Clonal expansion
a. Acquired immunity depends on the presence of B and
T cell expansion
b. These lymphocytes are made to specifically recognize
a specific class of pathogens
i. When the cells are exposed to a pathogen, their
receptors become specific to that specific
pathogen
c. After coming in contact with a pathogen antigen, the
cells divide repeatedly to make clones
i. Effector cells
1. Short lived cells that actively combat the
antigen or pathogen
2. Undergo apoptosis after the infection is
over
ii. Memory cells
1. Long lived cells that have receptors for
the specific antigen (they have a
memory of the pathogen)
2. They live to fight another day and
under go clonal expansion any other
time the body is infected by the same
pathogen
3. Primary and Secondary Immune Response
a. When first exposed to the pathogen, it takes 10-17
days for the immune system to generate the correct
effector T and B cells
b. When exposed for a second time, the body already
has the needed antibodies, so the production of
effector cells is much more rapid
i. Generally, the second infection is never noticed,
because of the memory cells from the first
infection
ii. This is immunity because it is protection
against the specific pathogen
4. Antibody-mediated

a. B cells recognize the antigen when they collide (or

receive cytokine signals) and clonally expand
b. Effector B cells are called plasma cells, and produce
and release antibodies
i. Antibodies are proteins that bind to a specific
antigen
ii. They are generally called immunoglobulins
(Igs)
iii. They circulate in the bloodstream, and either
come from exposure to the pathogen, or are
genetically inherited (like the blood anti-A and
anti-B)
c. After the antibodies bind to the antigens, they mark
the pathogen for elimination by the macrophages
d. The antibody coat also stops viruses from entering
and infecting cells
e. Plasma cells undergo apoptosis after the infection is
over
f. Memory B cells hold the memory of the pathogen so
that in a second infection, they can clonally expand
faster and produce a faster elimination of the
pathogen
5. Cell-mediated
a. T cells directly destroy infected cells, cancerous cells,
and transplanted tissues (and still have to either
collide with the antigen, or get a cytokine signal)
b. Effector T cells are called cytotoxic T cells or killer T
cells
i. These cells directly destroy infected cells, by
attaching to the antigens of the pathogen that
have attached to the cell and releasing enzymes
that cause the cell to undergo apoptosis
ii. The killer T cells then undergo apoptosis after
the infection is over
c. Memory T cells are also created
6. Helper T cells
a. These cells do not undergo clonal expansion, instead
they release cytokines, which stimulate humoral and
cell-mediated immune responses

b. The cytokines stimulate the memory B and T cells to

clonally expand
c. Apoptosis
i. Programmed cell death, normal cell suicide process
ii. This occurs in response to chemical cell signals
iii. It starts with an overall compaction of the cell, the chromatin is
dissected, and the cell is rapidly engulfed by phagocytosis
(macrophage)
iv. Cell contents remain membrane-bound, as to not cause
inflammation
v. This happens because of the need to maintain a constant number of
adult cells, and because cells have specific lifespans (like 120 days
for red blood cells)
vi. This also helps defend against damaged and dangerous cells (by
utilizing natural killer cells)
1. Virus infected cells
2. Cancerous or DNA damaged cells
vii. Another use for apoptosis is sculpting of embryonic tissue (like
removing the webbing between the fingers and toes)
d. Necrosis
i. Premature and uncontrolled cell death, often due to traumatic
damage or deprivation of nutrients (especially oxygen)
ii. Cells swell and burst, causing their contents to escape into the
extracellular environment
iii. Causes inflammation and pain
e. Allergies
i. Hypersensitivity to environmental antigens (allergens)
ii. Generally, allergies are caused by harmless molecules
iii. Allergens bind to mast cells which causes the release of histamine
which causes inflammation
iv. Antihistamines, which are generally what allergy meds are made
of, block histamine receptors, and reduce inflammation
v. Anaphylactic shock is a response to a severe allergy (like ingested
allergens)
1. The symptoms of anaphylactic shock are extreme swelling,
closing of the throat, and low blood pressure
f. Infectors
i. Bacteria

1. Treated with antibiotics, which either break down the

bacteria cell wall (gram-positive bacteria), or prevent
bacterial protein production (gram-negative bacteria)
ii. Viruses
1. Treatment is generally just waiting out the course of the
illness, as not much can be done to kill the nonliving
viruses with drugs
2. Mostly focused at preventing infection using vaccines and
antiviral medications, which are made from inert or less
powerful forms of the virus
g. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)
i. This is a retrovirus that invades helper T cells and macrophages
1. Retroviruses only have RNA, not DNA, and need to use
reverse transcription to make DNA, which goes against the
central dogma (DNA->RNA->protein)
ii. This virus is transmitted by the transfer of body fluids containing
infected cells (blood, semen)
iii. It kills helper T cells, which causes immunosuppression in humans
1. This is called AIDS or Acquired Immunodeficiency
Syndrome
2. When this happens, the infected human becomes more
susceptible to opportunistic infections
a. These are infections that usually have no effect, but do
when the infected organism is immunosuppressed
iv. Frequent mutations occur because of the reverse transcription,
which doesnt check for errors like in normal transcription
1. This makes creating a vaccine difficult because this changes
the antigens
v. However, this virus cannot survive for more than an hour outside
of a human host
vi. The latency of HIV is 10 years, which can make detection difficult
1. However, the virus causes cells to make minute amounts of
proteins, which can be detected even if the symptoms of HIV
are not present
h. Active and Passive Immunity
i. Active Immunity
1. This is when the body produces antibodies and develops a
memory from exposure
2. This includes circulating antibodies and memory cells

3. Active immunity can also be caused by vaccines

4. Considered true immunity
ii. Passive
1. This is a temporary form of immunity
2. Antibodies are gained from the placenta at birth, and for the
first 6 months of breastfeeding
3. Antibodies can also be gained from antibody injections,
which can help buy time for people to fight off diseases (like
in the recent outbreak of Ebola) until the body can produce
its own antibodies