ImmunologyLesson 4 of 6 in the course The Lymphatic and Immune System

Immune Responses to Infection: Timing, Defenses, and Evasion

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

The immune response is a coordinated process in which immune cells, antibodies, and signaling molecules work together to control infection. This lesson follows the changing balance between pathogens and the adaptive immune system, and considers how exposure and immune memory affect health.

When a pathogen gets past barrier defenses and begins multiplying, the immune response must limit its growth and remove it. During roughly the first four to five days of a primary infection, the innate immune response can partially control pathogen growth, but may not stop it. Meanwhile, the adaptive immune response develops and expands specific B and T cell clones.

All flashcards

Seroconversion
The appearance or rise of specific antibodies in serum during an infection; it does not by itself prove recovery.
Clonal expansion
The multiplication of adaptive immune cells that recognize a particular antigen.
How do IgE and eosinophils contribute to defense against helminths?
Eosinophils can bind to IgE-labeled parasites and release granule contents that help damage them.
What does the hygiene theory propose?
Reduced exposure to some microbes may influence immune development and contribute to allergy patterns.
Immune evasion
Features or changes that help a pathogen persist despite the host's immune defenses.

Quiz questions

  1. During the first days of a primary infection, how do innate and adaptive defenses typically differ?Answer: Innate defenses act early; adaptive defenses take time to develop and expand.
  2. How can natural killer (NK) cells detect some virus-infected cells?Answer: They can detect cells with reduced MHC class I expression.
  3. How can Th1-cell signals help macrophages control intracellular bacteria?Answer: They activate macrophage antimicrobial pathways, which can produce nitric oxide.
  4. What role do microfold (M) cells in intestinal tissues have in immune defense?Answer: They take up particulate antigens from the intestinal lumen.
  5. How can influenza viruses form new combinations of genome segments?Answer: Different influenza viruses can infect the same cell and reassort their segments.

Based on Anatomy and Physiology 2e by J. Gordon Betts, Kelly A. Young, James A. Wise, Eddie Johnson, Brandon Poe, Dean H. Kruse, Oksana Korol, Jody E. Johnson, Mark Womble, Peter DeSaix (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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