INTRODUCTION TO IMMUNOLOGY

IMMUNOLOGY AND SEROLOGY

MED 202 [LEC]

OUTLINE 15th CENTURY

I. Definition • Powdered smallpox crusts were inserted with
II. Historical development a pin into the skin
III. Scientists and their contribution in • Disadvantage:
immunology o This process of inoculation
IV. Overview of the immune system occasionally killed or disfigured a
patient
DEFINITION 18th CENTURY
o Immunology • Edward Jenner (1798)
o Resistance to disease, specifically o British physician and scientist
infectious disease o Discovered “vaccination” through
o Study of the body’s immune system cowpox
and its functions and disorders o Cross-Immunity – A phenomenon in
o The study of a host’s reaction when which exposure to one agent
foreign substances are introduced produces protection against agent
into the body
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
• Immunology came from the sole concept of
immunity where people noticed that those
who survived a disease tend to have less
symptoms when they are infected by the
same disease
430 BC
o Thucydides 19th CENTURY
o During the plague of Athens, • Louis Pasteur (1880-1881)
Thucydides recorded that individuals o French chemist and microbiologist
who had previously contracted the o Father of Immunology
disease recovered and he o Live, attenuated chicken cholera and
recognized their “immune” status anthrax vaccines
1000 AD o An exposure of the body to a
• Variolation weakened pathogen can help build
o Chinese practiced a form of up resistance to the actual infectious
immunization by inhaling dried organism
powders derived from the crusts of
smallpox lesions.
o The theory was that if a healthy
individual was exposed as a child or
young adult, the effects of the
disease would be minimized.

Note: Attenuation of a bacterium or a virus happens

through various conditions: heat, aging, or chemical
means
J.M. MENDOZA
 INTRODUCTION TO IMMUNOLOGY
• Robert Koch (1891)
OTHER SCIENTISTS AND THEIR o German physician and microbiologist
CONTRIBUTION IN IMMUNOLOGY o Demonstration of cutaneous
• Ernst Haeckel (1862) (delayed-type) hypersensitivity
o German zoologist
o Most influential champion of Darwin’s
Theory of Evolution
o Observed white blood cells digesting
dye particles

Note: Delayed hypersensitivity is associated with

allergy reaction wherein the immune system
responds through direct action of sensitized T cells
when stimulated by contact with antigen
• Elie Metchnikoff (1883 – 1905)
o Russian zoologist • Paul Ehrlich (1900)
o Coined the term “Phagocytosis”, o German physician
meaning cells that eat cells o Antibody formation theory
o Cellular theory of immunity through
phagocytosis

• Emil von Behring & Shibasaburo Kitasato

(1890) Note: This theory proposed that cells were
o Emil von Behring – German considered to have surface receptors, which can
physiologist bind with complementary ‘side chains’
o Shibasaburo Kitasato – Japanese
physician SCIENTIST CONTRIBUTION
o Humoral theory of immunity
Portier, Richet (1902) Immediate-
proposed
hypersensitivity
anaphylaxis
Arthus (1903) Arthus reaction of
intermediate
hypersensitivity
Marrack (1938) Hypothesis of antigen-
antibody binding
Salk, Sabin (1949) Development of polio
vaccine

J.M. MENDOZA
 INTRODUCTION TO IMMUNOLOGY
Reed (1951) Vaccine against yellow o Secretion of fluid through urine are
fever important in physically removing
Burnet (1957) Clonal selection theory potential pathogens
Kohler (1975) First monoclonal o The acidity of the vagina aids in the
antibodies removal of potential pathogens
Mosmann (1986) Th1 versus Th2 model SECOND LINE OF DEFENSE: NATURAL
of T helper cell function IMMUNITY
Frazer (2005) Development of human • Also known as inborn or innate resistance
papillomavirus vaccine • One of the ways that the body resists
infection after microorganisms have
OVERVIEW OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM penetrated the first line of defense
• The function of the immune system is to • Is characterized as a non-specific
recognize self from non-self and to defend mechanism
the body against non-self. Components of the Natural Immune System
• Specific cellular elements of the immune • Cellular
system include the lymphocytes. o Mast cells
FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE: RESISTANCE TO ▪ Resemble basophils, but they
MICROBIAL DISEASE are connective tissue cells of
• Skin mesenchymal origin
o The site where foreign material has ▪ Lifespan between 9 and 18
its first contact with the host months
o Serves as the physical barrier of the ▪ Granules contain acid
body phosphatase, alkaline
o Secreted materials form the skin phosphatase, and protease
discourages the growth of ▪ IgE
microorganisms o Neutrophils
o Lactic acid in sweats and fatty acids ▪ Polymorphonucleic
from sebaceous glands maintain the Neutrophilic (PMN) leukocyte
skin pH at 5.6 ▪ 50-70% of peripheral WBC
• Nose ▪ Azurophilic granules
o Mucus adhering to the membranes of ▪ Diapedesis
the nose and nasopharynx traps ▪ Chemotaxins
microorganisms, which can be o Macrophages
expelled through coughing or ▪ Their functions include
sneezing microbial killing, tumoricidal
• Eyes activity, intracellular parasite
o Lysozyme seen in tears attacks the eradication, phagocytosis,
cell walls of microorganisms, secretion of cell mediators,
especially those of gram-positive and antigen presentation
• Ears • Humoral
o Production of earwax (cerumen) o Complement
protects the auditory canals from ▪ Major humoral component of
infectious disease natural immunity
• Mouth o Lysozyme
o Also contains lysozyme ▪ Enzyme found in tears and
• Stomach saliva that functions as a
o The acidity of the digestive system antimicrobial agent
due to the production of hydrochloric o Interferon
acid, keeps the pH as low as 1 and ▪ Is a family of proteins
serves to halt microbial growth produced rapidly by many
cells in response to viral
• Genitourinary System
infections

J.M. MENDOZA
 INTRODUCTION TO IMMUNOLOGY
THIRD LINE OF DEFENSE: ADAPTIVE ▪ Plays a role in both the innate
IMMUNITY and adaptive immune
• A type of resistance that is characterized by response
specificity for each individual pathogen. Or PHAGOCYTOSIS
microbial agents, and the ability to remember • Consists of four main steps:
a prior exposure. o Physical contact between the white
• Allows the body to recognize, remember, and cell and the foreign particle
respond to a specific stimulus an antigen o Formation of a phagosome
• Can result in the elimination of o Fusion with cytoplasmic granules to
microorganism form a phagolysosome
Two Categories of Adaptive Response o Digestion and release of debris to the
• Humoral-Mediated Immunity outside
o Cytokines
▪ Small proteins that are crucial
in controlling the growth and
activity of other immune
system cells and blood cells
o Antibodies
▪ Also called immunoglobulin, a
protective protein produced
by the immune system in
response to the presence of a
foreign substance
o When specific antibodies formed to INFLAMMATION
antigenic stimulation • Overall reaction of the body to injury or
o Can be acquired if the antibodies are invasion by an infectious agent
formed by the host or if they are • Both cellular and humoral mechanism are
received form another source involved in this complex
Two Types of Acquired Immunity • Four cardinal sign or clinical symptoms are:
Active Immunity Passive Immunity o Redness
Can be acquired by Achieved by the o Swelling
natural exposure in infusion of serum or o Heat
response to an infection plasma containing high o Pain
or natural series of concentrations of • Process of inflammation:
infections, or through antibody or o Increased blood supply to the
intentional injection of lymphocytes from an infected area
an antigen actively immunized o Increased capillary permeability
“vaccination” individual caused by retraction of endothelial
cells lining the vessels
• Cell-Mediated Immunity o Migration of WBC, mainly
o Consists of immune activities that neutrophils, from the capillaries to the
differ from antibody-mediated surrounding tissue
immunity o Migration of macrophages to the
o Direct cell-to-cell contact or soluble injured area
products secreted by cells • Acute inflammation
o T lymphocyte o Neutrophil is the major type of WBC
▪ Effector cells that serve a seen
regulatory role • Chronic inflammation
o B lymphocyte o Prolonged inflammatory process
▪ Antibody production
o Plasma cells
▪ Destroys cancer cells

J.M. MENDOZA
 INTRODUCTION TO IMMUNOLOGY
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J.M. MENDOZA