 The human defence system allows the body

to resist infection.

 Immunity is the ability to resist infection.

 A pathogen is an organism that causes

disease.

 The human defence system has two parts:

◦ The General Defence System
◦ The Specific Defence System
 The general defence system acts as a barrier
to all pathogens attempting to gain entry to
the human body.

 The first line of general defence consists of:

◦ Skin – provides a barrier to infection.
◦ Sebaceous Glands – glands in the skin that produce
chemicals which kill bacteria.
◦ Mucous Membranes - line the respiratory,
digestive, urinary and reproductive tracts. Produce
mucus that traps pathogens.
◦ Beneficial Bacteria – found in the vagina produce
lactic acid that stops the growth of pathogens.
 The second line of general defence consists
of:
◦ Inflammatory Response – swelling and a rise in
temperature occurs at the site of infection. This
attracts white blood cells and interferes with the
reproduction of bacteria and viruses.
◦ Phagocytic White Blood Cells – these white blood
cells engulf and destroy bacteria, viruses and other
microorganisms.
◦ Protein Complement – proteins found in plasma
that are activated by infection and destroy viruses
and other pathogens. Interferons are another set of
proteins that prevent the spread of viral infections.
 The specific defence system produces an
individual response to each foreign body.

 Antigens are foreign molecules that stimulate

the production of antibodies.
◦ They may be found in bacterial cell walls, viral
coats, foreign cells or cancerous cells.

 Antibodies are proteins produced by

lymphocytes in response to an antigen.
◦ Antibodies can act by preventing pathogens from
entering cells, clumping pathogens together and
triggering the complement system.
 Monocytes (macrophages) are white blood
cells that engulf pathogens.
◦ When the pathogens are engulfed their antigens are
displayed on the surface of the monocyte; this
stimulates the production of antibodies.

 Lymphocytes are white blood cells that fight

infection by either:
◦ Attacking infected body cells.
◦ Producing antibodies.
 Monocytes and lymphocytes are produced in
the bone marrow and then move into the:
◦ Lymphatic System
◦ Spleen
◦ Thymus Gland (found in the chest)
 After an infection is overcome, some of the
antibody-producing lymphocytes remain in
the body for a long time.
◦ If a similar antigen enters the body these
lymphocytes can produce large numbers of the
specific antibodies quickly.
◦ This is why we usually don’t suffer from the same
infection twice.
 Induced immunity is the ability to resist
disease caused by a specific pathogen by the
production of antibodies.

 There are two types of induced immunity:

◦ Active Immunity (long lasting)
◦ Passive Immunity (short lived)
 A vaccine is a non-disease causing dose of a
pathogen which triggers the production of
antibodies.
◦ When we are injected with a vaccine our defence
system recognises it and produces antibodies.
◦ If the same pathogen enters our bodies again it will
be recognised and the correct antibodies can be
quickly produced in order to resist infection.
 There are two types of lymphocytes:
◦ B-lymphocytes (B-cells)
◦ T-lymphocytes (T-cells)

 These lymphocytes are distinguished

according to the location in which they
mature:
◦ B-cells mature in the Bone marrow.
◦ T-cells mature in the Thymus gland.
 When B-cells have matured they move into
the lymphatic system, especially the spleen
and lymph nodes.

 There are millions of different B-cells.

 Each B-cell:
◦ Recognises only one antigen (usually present on the
surface of a macrophage).
◦ Produces only one type of antibody.
 When a B-cell comes into contact with its
specific antigen it multiplies to produce large
numbers of antibodies.

 Antibodies inactivate antigens by attaching to

them, this allows the pathogen to be
disposed of by:
◦ Phagocytic white blood cells.
◦ Activating the complement system, which causes
the cell to burst.
Memory B-cells
 Most B-cells die off once the infection is
overcome.
 Some remain for many years, these memory
B-cells allow the body to respond if the same
antigen enters the body again.
 This secondary response is more effective as
it produces antibodies:
◦ In response to smaller amounts of antigens.
◦ Much faster than the primary response.
◦ Much greater numbers of antibodies than is the
case with a first-time infection.
 T-cells do not produce antibodies, instead
they act against viruses and bacteria in one of
four ways.

 There are four types of T-cells:

◦ Helper T-cells
◦ Killer T-cells
◦ Suppressor T-cells
◦ Memory T-cells
Helper T-cells
 Recognise antigens on the surface of other
white blood cells.
 Release chemicals that stimulate the
production of the correct B-cells.
Killer T-cells
 They attack cells containing foreign antigens
i.e. virus-infected cells, tumour cells and
transplant tissue.
 The killer T-cells attach onto the cell and
secrete a chemical called perforin, which
creates pores in the cell membrane.
 Water flows into the cell through the pores
which causes the cell to swell and burst.
Suppressor T-cells
 Suppressor T-cells are stimulated to grow by
specific antigens.
 They become active after the pathogen has
been destroyed.
 They stop B-cells and T-cells therefore
turning off the immune response.
Memory T-cells
 They can survive for many years, often for
life.
 If the same pathogen re-enters the body
they:
◦ Stimulate memory B-cells to produce huge amounts
of the correct antibody.
◦ Trigger the production of killer T-cells.
 Memory T-cells (along with memory B-cells)
are responsible for lifelong immunity from
infections.
  Viruses show some features of living things
but lack many others.

Living Non-living

Are non-cellular
Possess genetic material
(either DNA or RNA) Cannot reproduce by
themselves
Only have one type of nucleic
acid (living things have both
Can replicate (inside a living DNA and RNA)
cell)
Don’t possess ribosomes,
mitochondria etc.
 Viruses are composed of nucleic acid (either
DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protein coat.

 As they are not made of cells they don’t have

the cell machinery for their own metabolism
and so they only grow in living tissue.
◦ Since they can only replicate inside living cells they
are called obligate parasites.
◦ It is also the reason they cannot be grown on agar
and why antibiotics don’t work on them.
 Viruses are so
small that we can
only see them
with an electron
microscope.

 Different kinds of
viruses have
different shapes.
◦ This is one way of
recognising and
classifying them.
 As viruses are not cells the term replication is
used instead of reproduction.

 Viruses are often specific to one type of host

cell as the proteins on the virus match up
with receptors on the host cell.

 Once the virus has attached it:

◦ Sends its nucleic acid into the host cell.
◦ The viral nucleic acid uses the host organelles to
produce new viral nucleic acid and proteins.
◦ New viruses are made.
◦ The host cell bursts to release new viruses.
 Some viruses join their DNA to the host DNA.
◦ When the host cell copies its DNA the viral DNA is
also copied and passed on to the daughter cells.

 The viral DNA may have no apparent effect

but many generations later environmental
factors may activate it and make copies of the
virus.
 Human Diseases – viruses are responsible for
causing a wide range of human diseases e.g.
common colds, influenza (flu), chickenpox
etc.

 Plant Diseases – viruses can have a harmful

effect on plants e.g. tobacco mosaic (leaves
of the plant develop a spotted appearance).

 Animal Diseases – common animal diseases

caused by viruses include foot and mouth
and rabies.
 Genetic Engineering – viruses are sometimes
used to transfer genes from one organism to
another.

 Control of Infections – some viruses are

specific to bacteria and can be used to reduce
infections by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.