"An immune response is a physiological reaction which occurs within an organism in the context of inflammation for the purpose of defending against exogenous factors."
How the immune system responds to different types of pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
Introduction to Immunology: Understanding the key concepts, cells, and organs involved in the immune response.
Immunogenetics: The genetic basis of the immune response, including the role of MHC molecules and the genes encoding them.
Classical and Alternative Complement Pathways: Understanding the process of complement activation and its role in the immune response.
Innate Immunity: The first line of defense against pathogens, including barriers, pattern recognition receptors, and cytokines.
Adaptive Immunity: Building immunity against a specific pathogen, involving antigen recognition, T and B cell differentiation, and antibodies.
Antigen Processing and Presentation: How foreign antigens are processed by antigen-presenting cells and presented to T cells.
T Cell Activation and Differentiation: Understanding how T cells become activated and differentiate into effector cells or memory cells.
B Cell Activation and Antibody Production: How B cells become activated and produce antibodies.
Immunological Memory: The long-term immunity that follows an initial immune response to a pathogen, including primary and secondary responses.
Immune Disorders: Conditions where the immune system fails to function properly, including allergies, autoimmune diseases, immunodeficiency diseases, and transplant rejection.
Immunotherapy: The use of the immune system to treat diseases, including monoclonal antibodies, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and cell-based therapies.
Vaccine Development: The process of designing and producing vaccines to stimulate the immune system to prevent or treat diseases.
Innate Immune Response: It is the body's first line of defense against invading pathogens. It provides immediate, nonspecific protection through physical barriers, such as the skin and mucous membranes, and cellular components, such as phagocytes and natural killer cells.
Adaptive Immune Response: It is a more specialized and specific response to invading pathogens and foreign substances. It involves the activation of B and T lymphocytes that are specific to particular antigens.
Humoral Immune Response: It involves the production of antibodies by B cells, which are specific to a particular antigen. These antibodies circulate in the bloodstream and can neutralize or identify invaders for subsequent removal by other immune cells.
Cell-Mediated Immune Response: It involves the activation of T cells that can directly attack and destroy infected cells or tumor cells.
Active Immunity: It is a type of immunity that develops when the body's immune system is exposed to an invading pathogen or foreign substance and produces a specific immune response.
Passive Immunity: It is a type of immunity that is acquired from another organism or source, such as through the placenta, breast milk, or administration of immunoglobulin.
Natural Immunity: It is immunity that occurs as a result of exposure to pathogens in the environment and is not mediated by vaccination or other interventions.
Artificial Immunity: It refers to immunity that is induced through vaccination or other medical interventions.
Autoimmune Response: It is a malfunction of the immune system where the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's own tissues, resulting in autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or multiple sclerosis.
Immunodeficiency: It is a disorder in which the immune system fails to function properly, leading to increased susceptibility to infections or cancers.
Hyperactive Immune Response: It is an exaggerated immune response to an allergen or non-infectious foreign substance, leading to allergic reactions or autoimmune disorders.
Suppressed Immune Response: It is a reduced immune response that can result from various factors, such as chronic stress, malnutrition or certain medical treatments.
"These include a wide variety of different toxins, viruses, intra- and extracellular bacteria, protozoa, helminths, and fungi."
"Harmless exogenous factors such as pollen and food components can trigger allergy; latex and metals are also known allergens."
"A transplanted tissue (for example, blood) or organ can cause graft-versus-host disease."
"A type of immune reactivity known as Rh disease can be observed in pregnant women."
"In general, there are two branches of the immune response, the innate and the adaptive..."
"Components of the innate immune response include physical barriers like the skin and mucous membranes, immune cells such as neutrophils, macrophages, and monocytes, and soluble factors including cytokines and complement."
"On the other hand, the adaptive branch is the body's immune response which is catered against specific antigens and thus, it takes longer to activate the components involved."
"The adaptive branch includes cells such as dendritic cells, T cells, and B cells..."
"The first contact that an organism has with a particular antigen will result in the production of effector T and B cells which are activated cells that defend against the pathogen."
"The production of these effector cells as a result of the first-time exposure is called a primary immune response."
"Memory T and memory B cells are also produced in the case that the same pathogen enters the organism again."
"If the organism does happen to become re-exposed to the same pathogen, a secondary immune response will kick in and the immune system will be able to respond in both a fast and strong manner because of the memory cells from the first exposure."
"Vaccines introduce a weakened, killed, or fragmented microorganism in order to evoke a primary immune response."
"This is so that in the case that an exposure to the real pathogen occurs, the body can rely on the secondary immune response to quickly defend against it." (Note: The following questions do not have direct quotes in the provided paragraph, but can be answered based on the information provided.)
The innate immune response is non-specific and quick, providing a general defense against any pathogen. In contrast, the adaptive immune response is specific to antigens and takes longer to activate.
Physical barriers include the skin and mucous membranes.
Immune cells such as neutrophils, macrophages, and monocytes are involved in the innate immune response.
Antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins, directly interact with antigens to mount an immune response.
The secondary immune response is quicker and stronger due to the presence of memory T and B cells, which can rapidly recognize and respond to the same pathogen upon re-exposure.