Immune System

Antibiotics work in one of several ways:

-Slowing bacteria reproduction -Interfering with bacterial cell wall formation

Pathogen

A biological agent that causes disease in its host.

Fever

A defense mechanism that can destroy many types of microbes.

Pollen

A harmless protein, yet we become allergic to it.

Cytokines

A large group of proteins, peptides or glycoproteins that are secreted by specific cells of immune system. Cytokines are a category of signaling molecules that mediate and regulate immunity, inflammation and hematopoiesis.

Virus

A non-living particle that contains genetic material, and hijacks your cells to reproduce.

Antibody

A protein produced by the human immune system to tag and destroy invasive microbes.

Allergies

An immune system reaction to harmless antigens.

Cold

An infection of the mucus membranes of the respiratory tract by a rhinovirus.

Sweat and oils contain-

Anti-microbial chemicals, including some antibiotics.

Medical science has created two systems for augmenting the human immune system:

Antibiotics and vaccines

Antigen

Any protein that our immune system uses to recognize "self" vs. "not self."

Antibodies can attach to _ ____, and serve to recognize foreign _________.

B cells, antigens

Superbugs

Bacteria that have evolved a resistance to most antibiotics.

_________ ____ _________ can also cause fast-onset vomiting and diarrhea.

Bacterial food poisoning

_________ _-_____ can recognize and destroy cancer cells. But if the division is too rapid, the _-_____ cannot keep up.

Cytotoxic T-cells, T-cells

Non-specific defenses

Designed to prevent infections by viruses and bacteria. These include: Intact skin, Mucus and Cilia, Phagocytes

Your body has been exposed to the antigen in the past either through:

Exposure to the actual disease causing antigen-you fought it, you won, you remember it Planned exposure to a form of the antigen that has been killed or weakened-you detected it, eliminated it, and remember it

A vector might be what actually causes the illness.

False

____ _ ____, ______ _ _____ also comes from prior centuries, when it was though that people with a cold had too much "cold" and "moisture" in their bodies, and needed food to increase heat, while people with fever had too much "dryness" and "heat," so needed less food to cool them down.

Feed a cold, starve a fever

Fever also helps-

Fight viral infections by increasing interferon production.

____ _______ has been used to inject a good copy of the defective gene into blood cells or bone marrow cells. In several cases this has been effective , though it is still experimental.

Gene therapy

The ___ virus forces T-cells to make more viruses, killing the T-cells when the new viruses burst out.

HIV

Some drugs can slow down ___ ____________, but no cute exists yet. Prevention is still the best "cure."

HIV reproduction

How do superbugs develop resistance?

In any population, some bacteria may have the genes that make them immune to the effects of the antibiotics. If antibiotics are used, the bacteria that aren't immune die, leaving behind ONLY the ones that have those genes. Therefore, al their offspring will have those genes, and therefore be immune.

Vaccination history:

Invented by Edward Jenner in 1796. Jenner knew that dairy maids who had contracted cowpox never got smallpox. He inoculated a boy with secretions from cowpox sores, and showed the boy was immune to smallpox.

Bacteria

Living organisms that have a metabolism, have DNA, and can reproduce on their own.

What's an example of a superbug?

MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)

The major players in the immune system include:

Macrophage, T cells (helper, cytotoxic, memory), B cells (plasma, memory), Antibodies

_________ and _________ cause the nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea that many people call "stomach flu." If left untreated, the rapid dehydration these viruses cause can be fatal.

Norovirus, rotavirus

Immunity

Resistance to a disease causing organism or harmful substance

Phagocytes

Several types of white blood cells including macrophages (monocytes in tissue) and neutrophils that seek and destroy invaders.

While B-cells divide and differentiate, so do _-_____.

T-cells

Memory _-_____ and _-_____ remain ready to fight off the illness if it is encountered again.

T-cells, B-cells

Variolation

The deliberate inoculation of people with secretions from smallpox (Variola) sores, by inhaling the dried secretions or rubbing them on broken skin. Used for centuries in Asia and Africa.

Vector

The method by which a pathogen is transmitted to humans.

Specific defenses

Those that give us immunity to certain diseases.

Antibiotic

Various chemicals produced by certain soil microbes that are toxic to many bacteria. Some we use as medicines.

Types of pathogens:

Virus, Bacteria, Fungus, Protist

New research suggests that _______ _ plays a role in immune response, and may be critical for fighting off viruses.

Vitamin D

_______ _ is fat-soluble and can accumulate to toxic levels.

Vitamin D

HIV is-

a fragile virus that cannot live outside the human body for more than a few minutes.

SCID is-

a genetic condition in which one or more genes for proteins crucial for the immune system are defective. Children born with it have no immune system.

AIDS

acquired immune deficiency syndrome

What are the two types of immunity?

active immunity and passive immunity

Because there are over 100 different known rhinoviruses, it's possible to catch colds-

again and again.

Antibodies may disable some microbes, or cause them to stick together/___________.

agglutinate

Phagocytes are attracted by-

an inflammatory response of damaged cells.

Bacteria can be killed with _________________ because these substances target key processes in bacteria, such as production of the bacterial cell wall.

antibiotics

Antibiotics are not-

antibodies.

B-cells in general produce-

antibodies.

Plasma cells rapidly produce-

antibodies.

There are many different chains that the immune system assembles in different ways to make different-

antibodies.

How long active immunity lasts depends on the-

antigen.

The proteins are recognized as ________ by our immune systems. This causes a mild immune response.

antigens

Antibodies are-

assembled out of protein chains.

Multiple sclerosis, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis are examples of __________ _________. None of these can be cured, but drugs can help slow the progress of these diseases.

autoimmune disorders

The deadly 1918 fly pandemic has been recently identified as an _____ ___. Unlike common flu, it killed mostly young, healthy people.

avian flu

The normal flow of mucus washes __________ and ________ off of mucus membranes.

bacteria and viruses

Antibodies released into the blood stream will ____ to the antigens they are specific for.

bind

A ____ ____ can determine if a person needs to take Vitamin D.

blood test

Some cytotoxic T-cells can recognize and destroy ______ cells.

cancer

Other vaccinations last for a lifetime, such as-

chicken pox.

Colds are not caused by getting _______. This belief comes from medical ideas of prior centuries, when it was believed that illness was caused by an imbalance of "humors," and that a person with a cold actually had too much "coldness."

chilled

Vitamin C won't cure a ____, but may support some aspects of immune response.

cold

Dead skin cells are-

constantly sloughed off, making it hard for invading bacteria to colonize.

Memory T-cells are formed, which can quickly divide and produce _________ _-_____ to quickly fight off the invader if it is encountered again in the future

cytotoxic T-cells

Antibiotics help-

destroy bacteria (but not viruses).

_________ _____ of the flu may hybridize their genetic material, causing new strains to develop in a single generation.

different forms

There are viruses that attack the-

digestive system.

Memory cells retain the "memory" of the invader and remain ready to-

divide rapidly if an invasion occurs again.

In passive immunity, you _____ produce the antibodies.

don't

Preventing HIV spread comes down to preventing-

exposure to body fluids of an infected person.

The proposed link between vaccines and autism turns out to have-

far less experimental support than was originally reported.

The flu vaccine does not give you the ___.

flu

Histamine causes-

fluids to collect around an injury to dilute toxins. This causes swelling.

Fragments of ____ ________ may get through the digestive system. The next time these proteins are encountered, the immune system attacks them.

food proteins

When the invader is destroyed, the helper T-cell calls a ____ to the immune response.

halt

Your _____ pick up rhinoviruses from surfaces.

hands

The HIV virus fools ______ _-_____ into thinking its proteins are "self," and so is able to infect the cells that trigger specific immunity.

helper T-cells

Most of the symptoms of pollen are caused by __________ released by mast cells. This is why antihistamines are used to treat allergies.

histamines

HIV

human immunodeficiency virus

If an antigen ("not self") protein is encountered by a macrophage, it will bring the protein to a helper T-cell for ______________.

identification

Humans do not become ______ to antibiotics.

immune

Antigens are deliberately introduced into the ______ ______ to produce immunity.

immune system

Absorption of Vitamin C _________ during illness. It also has a very slight _____________ effect.

increases, antihistamine

AIDS is caused by an-

infection by the HIV, which attacks and destroys T-helper cells. Because it attacks the immune system directly, finding a vaccine has been difficult.

Viruses cannot be _______ with antibiotics.

killed

Modern vaccines are created from-

killed bacteria or viruses, or fragments of proteins from these microbes.

Some T-cells become cytotoxic or ______ T-cells. These T-cells seek out and destroy any antigens in the system, and destroy microbes "tagged" by antibodies.

killer

If you become infected with MRSA, it may be-

life-threatening.

Mucus contains-

lysozymes and enzymes that destroy bacterial cell walls.

Vitamin C is necessary for-

making collagen, and for many body functions.

Inflammation is signaled by-

mast cells, which release histamine.

In specific defenses, the immune system forms a chemical ___________ of the invading microbe. If the microbe is encountered again, the body reacts so quickly that few or no symptoms are felt.

memory

Consider the vaccine for __________, which is recommended for all college students and infects 3,000 people in the U.S., killing 300 annually.

meningitis

Because the bacteria has been killed or weakened, _______ symptoms occur

minimal

Cilia in the respiratory tract move-

mucus out of the lungs to keep bacteria and viruses out.

Bacteria that resist antibiotics and are not completely destroyed may ________, producing more antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

multiply

Vaccines are not less effective than a _______ infection with the illness.

natural

If helper T-cells are disabled, as they are in people with AIDS, the immune system will-

not respond.

If the helper T-cell recognizes the protein as ___ ____, it will launch an immune response.

not self

Some ________________ also destroy damaged body cells

phagocytes

S. aureus is typically found on your skin and can cause-

pimples.

B-cells differentiate into either ______ _____ or ______ _-_____.

plasma cells, memory B-cells

Vaccines have eradicated or severely limited several diseases from the face of the Earth, such as _____ and ________.

polio, smallpox

Stuff like ______ may get in through the respiratory system.

pollen

Cold viruses can mutate-

quickly.

Flu viruses also mutate-

quickly.

Those with antibodies that bind with the invader's antigen are stimulated to reproduce-

rapidly.

Viruses may also ride on __-__________ air, or reach you if someone sneezes right at you.

re-circulated

Helper T-cells have _________ for recognizing antigens. If they are presented with an antigen, they release cytokines to stimulate B-cell division.

receptors

Some cancer research involves assisting cytotoxic T-cells in-

recognizing and destroying cancer cells.

Booster shot

reminds the immune system of the antigen

Influenza is a-

respiratory virus.

The ____ ____ of the flu may have the ability to infect several different vertebrate animals.

same form

Cells of the immune system are trained to recognize ____ proteins vs. ___ ____ proteins.

self, not self

SCID

severe combined immunodeficiency disease

The helper T-cell is the key cell to-

signal an immune response.

While high fevers can be dangerous,-

some doctors recommend letting low fevers run their course without taking aspirin or ibuprofen.

There is no _______ flu.

stomach

Echinacea is supposed to __________ the immune system.

strengthen

The recent H1N1 flu, mostly a _____ ___, had many avian genetic markers similar to the 1918 flu.

swine flu

Antibodies ___ microbes so that the microbes are quickly recognized by various white blood cells.

tag

Free antibodies can bind to antigens, which ____ the antigen for the immune system to attack and destroy.

tags

The temperature of the tissues may rise, which can kill-

temperature-sensitive microbes.

Over 100 rhinoviruses have been identified, which is one reason why we don't become immune to-

the cold.

Colds and ___ ___ are different illnesses. Not every respiratory infection is ___ ___.

the flu (2)

Autoimmune disorders occur when-

the immune system fails to recognize a protein as "self" and launches an attack.

Cancer occurs when-

the mechanisms that control cell division fail, and body cells divide out of control.

To catch a cold, a rhinovirus must reach-

the mucus membranes of your upper respiratory system.

Those especially susceptible for vaccines include-

travelers and students.

Some disease-causing bacteria multiply into new forms that our body doesn't recognize, requiring annual ____________, like the flu shot.

vaccinations

Colds and influenza are caused by-

viruses.

Antibiotics do not ______ our immune system. They help it by _________ bacteria.

weaken, weakening

Studies in petri dishes showed Echinacea stimulated _____ _____ _____ to produce more virus-killing peroxides, but controlled human trials have not had consistent results.

white blood cells

Although the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends certain vaccines, many individuals go-

without them.

In active immunity, ___ produce the antibodies.

you

Too much ____ can suppress the immune system, and can reach toxic levels. ____ nasal sprays can destroy olfactory receptors.

zinc (2)

Some studies have shown that moderate use of ____ ________ slightly decreases the duration and severity of colds.

zinc lozenges