Basic Immunology Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts of basic immunology based on a provided textbook excerpt.

Antigen

An entity recognized specifically by the B- and T-lymphocytes.

PAMPs (Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns)

Small conserved molecular motifs characteristic of various taxonomic groups of microbes or other pathogens.

PRRs (Pattern-Recognition Receptors)

Receptors that sense the presence of PAMPs and interpret them as "danger", evoking strong activation signals.

DAMPs (Damage-Associated Molecular Patterns)

Danger signaling molecules released due to injury or abnormal processes in the body, perceived by pattern-recognition receptors.

Primary Lymphoid Organs

Organs responsible for the production and development of immune cells; includes the red bone marrow and thymus.

Secondary Lymphoid Organs

Sites where cells of the adaptive immune system encounter antigens, leading to activation, proliferation, and differentiation of lymphocytes; includes lymph nodes and spleen.

Naïve Lymphocytes

Lymphocytes that have successfully left the primary lymphoid organs but have not yet encountered their antigen.

Effector Lymphocytes

Fully functional lymphocytes that have been activated by antigen recognition and are capable of mediating an immune response.

Innate Immunity

The elements of the immune system that appear long before birth and are constitutively present in the body, providing an immediate but non-antigen-specific response.

Adaptive Immunity

Antigen-specific immune response characterized by memory and improved response upon second exposure; involves the activation of B and T cells.

Anergy

A state where freshly generated lymphocytes become functionally unresponsive after antigen exposure due to a lack of interaction with other immune cells.

Opsonins

Molecules produced by the human body that bind to pathogens to mark or "illuminate" them for destruction.

Cytokines

Soluble messenger molecules (peptides, proteins, glycoproteins, or lipids) that mediate communication between immune cells.

Chemokines

Cytokines that induce chemotaxis, attracting cells bearing the appropriate chemokine receptor to the source of the chemokine.

MHC Molecules

Major Histocompatibility Complex proteins that present peptides derived from various proteins to T cells.

Antigen-Presenting Cells (APCs)

Cells that express MHC proteins and present peptides to T cells.

B Cell Receptor (BCR)

The cell surface immunoglobulin on B cells that recognizes antigens.

T Cell Receptor (TCR)

The antigen recognition receptor of T cells which recognizes the antigen in the form of an MHC-peptide complex.

Antibodies

Soluble immunoglobulins produced by plasma cells that recognize antigens and bind to them to mark or inactivate them.

Isotype Switching

The process by which B cells change the isotype of the antibody they produce.

Neutralization

Steric inhibitory effect where antibodies block the binding of a pathogen or toxin to cell surface receptors.

Central Tolerance

The process by which strongly self-reactive lymphocytes are eliminated or inactivated in the primary lymphoid organs.

Peripheral Tolerance

Mechanisms that control autoimmunity caused by the relatively few self-reactive cells that escape central tolerance.

Clonal Selection

The process where lymphocytes that recognize foreign antigens are activated and proliferate.