Immunogenetics

Video on complement
system
 Video on phagocytosis
 The main mediators of humoral specific acquired immunity
are immunoglobulins or antibodies.


Differs by heavy chain.
IgG, IgA, IgE, IgD, IgM

Variation in
heavy chain
genes.

Differs by A.A side

chain and disulfide
bonds in variable
domain. E.g. IgG1,
IgG2, IgG3, IgG4,
IgA1, IgA2
 DNA Studies Of Antibody Diversity
In 1965, Dreyer and Bennett proposed that an antibody could
be encoded by separate genes in germline cells that undergo
rearrangement in lymphocyte development.

DNA segments coding for V and C regions of the light chain

are separated by some 1500 base pairs (bp) in antibody
producing cells.

The intervening DNA segment was found to code for Variable

region (V), Diversity region (D), Joining region (J) and
Constant region (C).
 Antibody Gene Rearrangement
The genes for the and , light chains and the heavy chains in
humans have been assigned to chromosomes 2, 22 and 14,
respectively.

Only one of each of the relevant types of DNA segment is

expressed in any single antibody molecule.

The DNA coding segments for the various portions of the

antibody chains on these chromosomes are separated by DNA
that is non-coding.
 Somatic recombination events involved in antibody
production involve short conserved recombination signal
sequences that flank each germline DNA segment.

Further diversity occurs by variable mRNA splicing at the V-J

junction in RNA processing and by somatic mutation of the
antibody genes.

These mechanisms can easily account for the antibody

diversity seen in nature.
Video on VDJ recombination
 Class switching of antibodies
Class switching is a normal switch of antibody class produced
by B cells on continued or further exposure to antigen, from
IgM which is the initial class of antibody produced in response
to exposure to an antigen, to IgA or IgG.

Analysis of class switching in a population of cells derived

from a single B cell has shown that both classes of antibody
have the same antigen-binding sites, having the same V
region, differing only in their C region. Class switching occurs
by somatic recombination event that involves DNA segments
designated S (for switching) that lead to looping out and
deletion of the intervening DNA.
 The result is to eliminate the DNA segment coding for the C
region of the heavy chain of the IgM molecule and to bring the
gene segment encoding the C region of the new class of heavy
chain adjacent to the segment encoding the V region.
Video on antibody class
switching
 Genetic Disorder of the Immune System
1. Disorder of innate humoral immunity
a) Disorders of complement
) Defects of the third component of complement, C3, lead to
abnormalities of opsonization of bacteria, resulting in
difficulties in combating pyogenic infections. Defects in c3
complement involved in the formation of the membrane attack
complex.
) Deficiency of the Cl inhibitor results in inappropriate
activation of the classic pathway of complement, leading to
uncontrolled production of C2a, which is vasoactive, resulting
in fluid accumulation in soft tissue and the airways, sometimes
leading to life-threatening laryngeal edema.
) Inherited as autosomal dominant disorder.
2. Disorders of innate cell-mediated immunity
a) Chronic granulomatous disease(C GD)
) The best known example of a disorder of phagocytic function. It
can be inherited as either an X-linked or an autosomal recessive
disorder and is in all instances caused by an inability to generate
superoxide radicals, leading to a loss of antibacterial activity of the
phagocytes.

b) Leukocyte adhesion deficiency

) Individuals affected with leukocyte adhesion deficiency present
with life-threatening bacterial infections of the skin and mucous
membranes and impaired pus formation. The increased
susceptibility to infections occurs because of the absence of the 2
chain of the leukocyte integrins; this results in defective migration
of phagocytic cells due to abnormal adhesion-related functions of
chemotaxis and phagocytosis.
3. Disorder of Humoral Acquired Immunity

a) Bruton-type agammaglobulinemia
Boys with this X-linked immunodeficiency usually develop
multiple recurrent bacterial infections of the respiratory tract
and skin after the first few months of life, having been
protected initially by placentally transferred maternal IgG.
This type of immunodeficiency is confirmed by demonstration
of immunoglobulin deficiency and absence of B lymphocytes.
The disorder has been shown to result from mutations in a
tyrosine kinase specific to B cells (Btk) that result in loss of
the signal for B cells to differentiate to mature antibody-
producing plasma cells.
b) Hyper-IgM syndrome
This is an X-linked recessive condition that includes increased
levels of IgM, and also usually of IgD, with levels of the other
immunoglobulins being decreased. Patients are susceptible to
recurrent pyogenic infections and the mutated gene encodes a
cell surface molecule on activated T cells called CD40 ligand.
When the gene is not functioning immunoglobulin class
switches are inefficient, so that IgM production cannot be
readily- switched to IgA or IgG.
4. Disorders of cell-mediated specific acquired immunity

a) Severe combined immunodeficiency

) SCID is associated with an increased susceptibility to both viral and
bacterial infections because of profoundly abnormal humoral and
cell-mediated immunity.
) Death usually occurs in infancy because of overwhelming infection,
unless bone marrow transplantation is performed.
) SCID is genetically heterogeneous and can be inherited as either an
X-linked or autosomal recessive disorder.
) all forms have in common a defect in T-cell function or
development.
) The X-linked form (SCIDXI) is the most common form of SCID in
males, accounting for 50-60% overall, and has been shown to be
due to mutations in the chain of the cytokine receptor for
interleukin-2.
Secondary or Associated Immunodeficiency
1. DiGeorge syndrome
. Children with the DiGeorge syndrome present with recurrent viral
illnesses and are found to have abnormal cellular immunity as
characterized by reduced numbers of T lymphocytes, as well as
abnormal antibody production.
. This has been found to be associated with partial absence of the
thymus gland, leading to defects in cell-mediated immunity and T
cell-dependent antibody production.
. Usually these defects are relatively mild and improve with age, as
the immune system matures.
. This syndrome has been recognized to be part of the spectrum of
phenotypes caused by abnormalities of the third and fourth
pharyngeal pouches as a consequence of a microdeletion of
chromosome band 22q11.2 .
2. Ataxia telangiectasia
Ataxia telangiectasia is an autosomal recessive disorder in
which children present in early childhood with difficulty in
control of movement and balance ( cerebellar ataxia),dilated
blood vessels of the whites of the eyes (conjunctiva),ears and
face( Oculocutanous telangiectasia), and a susceptibility to
sinus and pulmonary infections.
Persons with this disorder have low serum IgA levels and a
hyperplastic thymus as a result of a defect in the cellular
response to DNA damage. The diagnosis of ataxia
telangiectasia can be confirmed by the demonstration of low
or absent serum IgA and IgG and characteristic chromosome
abnormalities on culture of peripheral blood lymphocytes, so-
called chromosome instability.
In addition, individuals affected with Ataxia telangiectasia
have an increased risk of developing leukemia or lymphoid
malignancies.
3. Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome
Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome is an X-linked recessive disorder
in which affected boys have eczema, diarrhea, recurrent
infections, a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia) and,
usually low serum IgM levels and impaired T-cell function and
numbers.

Mutations in the gene responsible have been shown to result in

loss of cytotoxic T-cell responses and T-cell help for B-cell
response, leading to an impaired response to bacterial
infections.