Microbiology - Vaccination and Immunotherapies

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the history of vaccination, principles of immunization, vaccine types, and cancer immunotherapies based on the lecture notes.

Variolation

An early method of smallpox immunization originating in China during the Sung Dynasty ($960-1280$).

Vacca

The Latin word for "cow," which is the root of the word "vaccine."

Edward Jenner

Scientist who used cowpox to vaccinate people against smallpox in $1796$.

Immunization

The process of inducing immunity in an individual.

Naturally Acquired Immunity

Adaptive immunity an individual gains through normal events, such as infection by a pathogen.

Artificially Acquired Immunity

Immunity acquired through artificial means such as vaccination or administration of immune globulin.

Active Immunity

Immunity that results from an immune response in an individual upon exposure to an antigen.

Passive Immunity

Immunity resulting from the transfer of protective antibodies to someone, such as during pregnancy, breastfeeding, or antibody injections.

Serum

The fluid portion of the blood that remains after blood clots.

Antiserum

Serum containing protective antibodies.

Antitoxin

An antiserum specifically against a toxin.

Immune globulin

The IgG fraction from blood plasma, pooled from many donors, containing a variety of antibodies used to protect immunocompromised or recently exposed individuals.

Hyperimmune globulin

Sera from individuals with high amounts of antibodies to certain disease agents used to protect against those specific agents.

Vaccine

A biological preparation used to induce active immunity.

Herd Immunity

Protection of an entire population based upon a critical concentration of immune hosts that prevents the spread of an infectious agent.

Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)

Treatment specifically started after a possible exposure to a pathogen to prevent disease.

Attenuated Vaccine

A vaccine composed of a weakened form of the pathogen that is generally unable to cause disease.

Inactivated Vaccine

A vaccine composed of killed bacterial cells, inactivated virus, or fractions of the pathogen.

Nucleic Acid-based Vaccines

Vaccines that use nucleic acid injected into a cell to induce immunity to the encoded proteins.

Adjuvant

A substance often used with inactivated vaccines to boost the immune response.

MMRV

A routine vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella.

DTAP-IPV-Hib

A routine vaccine covering diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, and H. infulenzae type B.

Tumor Antigens

Abnormal proteins expressed by cancer cells that can target them for destruction via MHC I.

Monoclonal Antibodies (mAb)

Antibodies derived from a single cultured B-cell that has been immortalized; medications end in "-mab."

Humanized Monoclonal Antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies engineered to be more like human antibodies, with names ending in "-zumab."

Naked Antibodies

mAb that bind to cancer cells and mark them for death by NK cells via antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC).

Trastuzumab

A naked antibody used for breast cancers that express high levels of HER2.

HER2

Human epidermal growth factor receptor $2$, which, when inhibited, slows cell proliferation in certain breast cancers.

Conjugated Antibodies

Antibodies that have a toxin or other "package" attached to them to target specific cells.

Bi-specific Ab

Antibodies with two different antigen binding sites, such as connecting cancerous B-cells to T-cells.

Immunomodulators

Therapies that either boost or suppress aspects of the immune response, such as cytokines or adjuvants.

Checkpoint Inhibitors

Therapies that interfere with peripheral tolerance mechanisms by inhibiting surface proteins that usually block T-cell responses.

Central Tolerance

The elimination of T/B cells that recognize self-molecules as they mature in the Thymus or Bone marrow.

Peripheral Tolerance

Mechanisms occurring after lymphocyte maturation that prevent reactions against self or harmless molecules, often requiring APCs to show danger.

PD-1

The programmed death receptor on effector cytotoxic T cells ($T_c$ cells).

PD-L1

A protein on cells that binds to PD-1 to suppress the cytotoxic T cell's ability to kill, essentially turning the cell "OFF."

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cells

Patient T-cells engineered to express a modified receptor that combines a membrane-spanning domain from a T-cell receptor with the Fv part of an antibody.

scFv

Single chain fragment variable; the part of an antibody often used in the modification of CAR-T cells.