Immune Topics

2nd Year IB Class

Inflammation• Inflammation is the a

biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli– Pathogens– Damaged cells– Irritants

• Attempt by organisms to remove the harmful stimuli and initiate the healing process

Diagnosis

• Either Acute or Chronic– Acute is the initial response which brings plasma

and leukocytes to the area, and is stopped when the injurious stimulus is removed

– Chronic is a pathological condition which brings monocytes, macrophages, lymphocytes, and plasma cells which causes both destruction of the cells and subsequent healing

Symptoms • Common characteristics:

– Redness – Swollen joint that is warm to the

touch – Joint pain – Joint stiffness – Loss of joint function

• Flu-like symptoms which include: – Fever – Chills – Fatigue/loss of energy – Headaches – Loss of appetite – Muscle stiffness

Diagnosis• Asthma • Autoimmune diseases • Chronic inflammation • Chronic prostatitis • Glomerulonephritis • Hypersensitivities • Inflammatory bowel diseases • Pelvic inflammatory disease • Reperfusion injury • Rheumatoid arthritis • Transplant rejection • Vasculitis

Treatment

• Anti-inflammatory drugs• Removal of the injurious stimulus

Common Associated Diseases• Rheumatoid Arthritis

– Chronic inflammation of joints and tissue around them

• Inflammatory Bowel Disease– Crohn’s Disease: affects any part

of gastrointestinal tract (mouth-anus)

– ulcerative colitis: affects colon and rectum

• Inflammatory Pelvic Disease – Affects uterus, fallopian tubes,

and/or ovaries– Leads to infertility

Lupus

About Lupus

• An auto-immune disease that can affect various parts of the body including the skin, joints, heart, lungs, blood, kidneys, and brain

• Immune system attacks itself because it cannot differentiate between foreign matter and its own cells and tissue– Causes inflammation-the main characteristic of lupus

• Mostly a mild disease that only affects a few organs, but may cause serious and even life-threatening problems

Symptoms• A butterfly-shaped rash across the bridge of the

nose and cheeks or a scaly, disk-shaped rash on the face, neck or chest

• Sensitivity to sunlight. People with lupus often experience severe rashes or sunburns after only a little time in the sun.

• Skin ulcers, usually painless, on the tongue or inside the mouth or nose

• Arthritis. Persons with the condition may experience joint pain, stiffness and swelling.

Organ RejectionIn Relation to the Immune System

By Jessi Crouse

Rejection often occurs as a result of Organ Transplants

• The immune system’s natural response is that the new organ is an alien tumor

• This causes a battle within the body, naturally the body wants to kill it

• The immune system sends B cell antibodies that often attack within minutes.

Rejection often occurs as a result of Organ Transplants

• There is a brief period before attack after a transplant where the patient feels relieved, but this is quickly disrupted by the T cell lymphocyte attacks (killer T cells)

• Upon response, anti-rejection drugs (often toxic) are dispensed to the patient.

ANTI-REJECTION DRUGS

~ One example of this is Cyclosporin

- This example is a toxin created from a Norwegian Fugus- It combats the immune system by disabling killer T-cells - Unfortunately, there are side effects such as increased hair growth throughout the entire body as well as growth of gums over teeth- This is the most commonly used and successful anti- rejection drug

MATCHING DONORS AND RECIPIENTS Minimal Rejection occurs by taking precautions:- First one needs to match the donor and recipient blood types- Second a close HLA tissue match is needed- The higher the level of antigen matches, the less rejection will occur based on a level from one to six- This is due to the fact that the immune system is more passive to similar body tissueOther reasons rejection can occur are:- Surprising the immune system- Making the error of distributing anti-rejection drugs before the procedure - Or if a woman has been pregnant, often it will treat the new organ growth like a fetus by not attacking/ functioning the immune system in that region this creates a danger of not fighting off future harms that attack the organ

Symptoms Cont.• Inflammation of the linings of organs such as the

heart and lungs (serositis) that makes breathing painful or causes shortness of breath or chest pain.

• Kidney problems, such as inflammation, either without symptoms or accompanied by swelling of the legs, and high blood pressure.

• Brain or spinal cord problems, accompanied by headaches, seizures or mental problems.

People Affected

• 1.5 to 2 million Americans• 90% of people affected are women• In US, more common in African-Americans,

Latinos, Asians and Native Americans

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Natalie Warner

• Cause: uNkNoWn??– Genetics– Hormones

• More prevalent in women! 3:1 ratio• Possible infection by virus or bacterium

– Some “bad” antigen stimulates the immune response macrophage presents the antigen to a T-Cell which initiates a response by B-Cells who send antibodies which lead to inflammation

The Pathogenesis Of…

Insulin-Dependent Diabetes

Alexia Burke

What is diabetes?• Affects the way our bodies use digested food for energy• The carbohydrates we eat are broken down into glucose

and circulated through the blood as the body’s major energy source

• In order for cells in muscles and tissues to use this energy, insulin must be present.– Produced in the pancreas

• With the right amount of insulin, glucose is either used as fuel or stored in the liver for future use

• With diabetes, the pancreas makes not enough insulin or the body does not respond– Glucose build-up occurs in blood and tissues and is excreted

through urine• Body loses main source of fuel

Insulin-Dependent Diabetes

• Accounts for <5% of the people with diabetes in the United States

• Typically appears in childhood• The pancreas produces little or no insulin• Person needs daily injection of insulin– (to keep glucose levels from getting too high or

low)

What does it have to do with the immune system?

• In IDDM, the body's own immune or disease-fighting system for some reason turns against the body's own tissues

• Substances formed by the immune system attack the beta cells of the pancreas, destroying their ability to make insulin

AllergiesAllergies

What is an allergy?What is an allergy?

• the mobilization of the immune the mobilization of the immune system in response to a foreign system in response to a foreign substance in the body substance in the body

• Production of the specific antibody Production of the specific antibody immunoglobulin E as a result of immunoglobulin E as a result of genetic predisposition. genetic predisposition.

The ReactionThe Reaction

• Macrophages present foreign bodies to Macrophages present foreign bodies to helper T-cellshelper T-cells

• T-cells tell B-cells to make antibodiesT-cells tell B-cells to make antibodies• B-cells make IgEB-cells make IgE– The first time, the body makes a specific The first time, the body makes a specific

antibodyantibody

• IgE binds to mast cells and basophil cellsIgE binds to mast cells and basophil cells• Mast and basophil cells release chemicals Mast and basophil cells release chemicals

that trigger the allergic response.that trigger the allergic response.

Reactions to the Reactions!

Immediate Hypersensitivity– Example: Sneezing and wheezing after ragweed

invasionLate Phase Reaction

Mast Cells attract a myriad of chemotactic factors.Eosinophils, neutrophils, and lymphocytes.Factors attract toxic substances, such as leukotrienes and major basic proteins.

Evolution Perspective

• Many of the chemicals involved in an allergic reaction were historically used as a defense against parasitic organisms.

• While the precise reason for allergic dispositions is unknown, scientists have isolated a number of genes that are involved in allergic individuals.

An Autoimmune Disease

• In Multiple Sclerosis, the body attacks its own myelin sheaths, because the immune system mistakenly reads them as foreign matter

Multiple Sclerosis• Affects central nervous

system; progressive damage to nerves

• Damage to myelin sheaths

• The immune system responds, causing inflammation. The inflammation destroys myelin, slows down nerve impulses, and leaves scar tissue

• Symptoms:– Partial or total blindness– Tingling or pain in body– Numbness/weakness of

limbs– Tremors– Lack of coordination– Dizziness– Fatigue

Rh Factor/disease

By: Jennifer Frigge and Amber Barlow

What is Rh disease

• The Rh (Rhesus) is whether a protein is present in the blood.

• Rh+ : the protein is present’• Rh- : the protein is not present• Rh factor is connected to blood type.

What is Rh disease continued

• Rh disease is a condition cause by an incompatibility between the blood of a mother and that of her fetus.

• If the mother is Rh-negative and her baby is Rh-positive some of her fetus’s Rh-positive red blood cells may get into the mother’s bloodstream.

• Since these red blood cells are foreign to the mother’s body, it body will respond by producing antibodies to fight against them.

Rh Disease and Treatment• Rh Disease is one of the causes of Haemolytic disease of the

newborn • It is an alloimmune condition in the fetus, and occurs when the

mother creates IgG antibodies that go into the fetus’s circulation through the placenta and attack the fetus’s red blood cells

• This can cause reticulocvtosis, anemia, and jaundice• Jaundice: yellowing discoloration of the skin • Reticulocvtosis: increase in reticulocytes [present in anemia]• Anemia: the level of healthy red blood cells (RBCs) in the body

becomes too low. -This can lead to health problems because RBCs contain

hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to the body's tissues.

Rh Disease TreatmentBEFORE BIRTH• Intrauterine transfusion• Early induction of labor [pulmonary maturity attained]• Plasma exchange [can reduce circulating levels of antibodies by 75%AFTER BIRTH• Temp. stabilization• Monitoring phototherapy• Transfusion w/ compatible red blood• Exchange transfusion with compatible blood type of infant and

mother **Treatment depends on how severe the condition is

Facts

• Most people are Rh-positive• The health of an Rh-negative person is not

affected in any way. – The only way that an Rh-negative person is at risk

is if a woman carries a baby that is Rh-positive.

The Beauty of ibuprofen

Caroline Lemke

• Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug• Created to combat rheumatoid arthritis in the

UK in 1969• Dr. Adams tests (successfully) on a hangover

How it works

• NonSteroidalAntiInflammatoryDrug• Inhibits cyclooxygenase (COX) which inhibits prostaglandin

synthesis – COX-1 – COX-2

• 3 A’s come from COX-2 inhibition– Analgesic (pain killer)– Antipyretic (reduce temperature)– Anti-inflammatory

• COX-1 inhibition has different effects – unwanted effects on platelet aggregation – GI mucosa

Functions of prostagladin • cause constriction or dilatation in vascular

smooth muscle cells • cause aggregation or disaggregation of platelets • sensitize spinal neurons to pain • constrict smooth muscle • regulate inflammatory mediation • regulate calcium movement • control hormone regulation • control cell growth

Monoclonal Antibodies

Laurel Osgood

What Are They?

• Antigen-specific antibodies produced from clones of a single parent cell

• They can detect or purify specific antigens and can be synthesized for almost any antigen

Problems

• Myeloma ~ cancer of B-cells– The cancerous cells all produce one antibody (a

paraprotein or abnormal protein) instead of different cells specific to different antigens

– Results in an inability to fight off most antigens