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The Immune System. A simple introduction to the variety of mechanisms used by our bodies to combat disease . By Margi Friedman. Why are we interested?. Has anyone in the room ever experienced an illness? What is an immune system?
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The Immune System A simple introduction to the variety of mechanisms used by our bodies to combat disease By Margi Friedman
Why are we interested? • Has anyone in the room ever experienced an illness? • What is an immune system? • What impact does the past study of immunology have on us today? • What possible outcomes could arise from further study of the immune system?
Immune System Vocabulary • Pathogens • Macrophage • Phagocytosis • Lymphocytosis • Lymphocyte • B Lymphocyte • T Lymphocyte • Antibodies • Immune System • Immunity • Innate (non-specific) Immunity • Adaptive (specific) Immunity • Antigens • Humoral Immune Response • Cell mediated Immune response
Mechanisms of Defense • Non-specific Responses: The innate immunity that we are born with. Includes the skin, mucous membranes, tears, saliva, and complement system responsible for inflammation & histamine response. • Specific Responses: The immunity we acquire through exposure to antigens. Immunity is acquired through the Humeral response & Cell-mediated response .
Non-specific Responses Mucous Membranes (physical barriers) THE SKIN Dead skin (physical barrier) Secretion of Bacterial Growth Inhibitor (chemical barrier) Tears & Saliva Enzymes break down bacterial walls (chemical barrier)
Non-Specific ResponseMast Cells Activated • http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/content/inflammatory.html
How are we doing so far? • Share of the differences between specific and non-specific immunity? • How many people in the class have had an immunization? • How does vaccination work? • An assessment of what you know is a click away. Click on the document on the bottom right to open an assessment of what we’ve learned so far.
The Humoral response creates Antibodies So, how do antibodies work? B-lyphocytes interact with antigens to trigger the production of Antibody-secreting plasma cells.
Pathogen/Antigen • A pathogen is the microorganism capable of producing disease • An antigen is the protein on the surface of a pathogen that our bodies recognize as a foreign substance & triggers our immune system to respond. • There are two main classifications of pathogens that we will look at: Bacteria & Viruses
How vaccination works • The immune system is exposed to an antigen in a form that it can easily combat. • This exposure triggers the Humoral response and activates B-Lymphocytes to begin a process that results in antibody production and memory of the antigen exposure. • A cellular memory is created so the body can quickly respond with huge amounts of antibody should that antigen show up again.
Do you feel vaccination should be a requirement for everyone?
When the Immune System isn’t enough • Medical treatment options exist as a result of years of research and development into our immune systems. • What are some of the effective treatments you’ve heard of in regards to various diseases? • Do you think someone with a compromised immune system, or an immune system that doesn’t operate very well, should receive vaccinations?
What about people with compromised immune systems? • People with immune systems that are compromised (for example a person with AIDS), are not able to generate an effective response because of the fact their B-lymphocyte cells, or T-lymphocyte cells are either absent or ineffective.
So much more to Immunology! • This is a very brief introduction to how our immune systems work. • Next up- Textbook reading • You get to do a project, stay tuned for more information!
References • Alcano, Edward. Biology Coloring Book. New York: Random House. 1998. Print • Mackessy, Carol. Single Subject Test Preparation Biology/Life Science. Prepared for Orange County Dept. of Education. Study guide in Print • http://crohn.ie/archive/primer/immunsys.htm • http://library.thinkquest.org/26360/immunevocab.html • http://nature.com
References continued • http://Sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/biology.html • http://uhaweb.hartford.edu/BUGL/immune.htm