Immunity is defined as the response of the body to infections.

It is the sum total reactions expressed by an

organism to inhibit, inactivate or destroy the invading microorganisms and their toxic products or other
foreign substances that enter into the body.

Immunity is classified into two types,

(i) innate (inborn or non-specific or non-adaptive) immunity and

(ii) acquired (specific or adaptive) immunity

host defence
mechanism

specific
Non-specific (third line
defence)

external internal
(first line (second line natural artificial
defence) defence)

physical or
biochemical
mechanical chemical barrier cellular factor other factor active active
factor
barrier

1. interferons 1. microphages
1. inflamation
skin 2. complement 2.mcrophages passive passive
2. fever
system 3. NK cells

mucos tear
membrane

nasal secretion
skin secretion

bile
cerumen

gut secretion
vaginal secretion

Innate immunity :

The defense mechanism is active from a child is born (inborn). The specificity of innate immunity is low, so
it is also known as non-specific immunity. It is also called as natural immunity.

Innate immunity provides the early lines of defense against pathogens, components of innate immunity are:

(a) Mechanical barriers

(b) Chemical barriers

(c) Phagocytosis

(d) Fever

(e) Inflammation

(f) Acute-phase proteins

(g) Natural killer cells (NK cells)

(a) Mechanical barriers - A mechanical or physical barriers blocking the entry of the microbes into the
host body. This is the first line of defense which includes skin and mucous membranes.

Skin - The outer layer of epidermis, coated with tough and insoluble protein called, keratin, does not support
viral replication and penetration by bacteria. The epidermis of skin is periodically shed off, resulting in the
continual removal of pathogen.

Mucous membrane - The gastrointestinal tract, urinogenital tract are all lined by mucous membranes helps
in protection. In the respiratory tract, goblet cells secrete mucous that captures dust and microbes, which are
propelled out by coughing and sneezing. Tear and saliva flush out microbes.

(b) Chemical barrier - The host body has several chemical / physiological barriers that contribute to innate
immunity. These are as follows :

1. Acidic gastric secretion from the stomach pH-1.5 to 2.0.

2. Low pH of sebum secreted by sebaceous glands containing organic acids (pH 3.0 to 5.0), inhibits growth
of microorganisms.

3. Lysozyme has hydrolytic enzyme, present in all mucous secretions.

4. Gastric and duodenal enzymes like proteases and lipases digest a variety of chemical constituents of
pathogens.

5. Human milk is rich in antibacterial substances namely Lactoferritin and Neuraminic acid, which fight
against bacteria.

6. The interferon refers to a group of proteins produced by virus infected cells.

7. Antimicrobial peptides : All insects and mammals including human, secrete a number of antimicrobial
peptides, such as defensins, for their protection.

(c) Phagocytosis - When bacteria or other invading parasites penetrate the skin or mucous membrane the
phagocytes, such as neutrophils, monocytes and tissue macrophages.

The phagocytes engulf the pathogens to form a large intracellular vesicle called phagosome. This fuses with
the lysosome to form a phagolysosome.

The release of lysosomal enzymes digests the bacteria. It is also regarded as second line of defense.

(d) Fever - fever is a condition of rise in the body temperature which is caused due to endogenous pyrogens
(cytokines) or endotoxins produced by various pathogens.

Rise in the temperature helps to destroy temperature sensitive pathogens.

Fever is also indication of internal infection, helps in diognosis the cause.

(e) Inflammation - inflammation is the reaction of the living tissue to either an injury or an infection.
Inflammation is characterised by heat, redness, swelling and pain.

It is a nonspecific response of the body to injury. Injury maybe caused by either mechanical agents (cut,
prick) or chemical agents (bee venom, acid or alkali) or infectious agents (bacteria or other pathogens).

Macrophages move to the site of injury. The blood vessels dilate due to the action of chemicals like
histamin, bradykinin, etc., secreted by mast cells.

Due to vasodilation blood accumulation and redness takes place at the site of inflamation.

Accumulation of fluid results in tissue swelling (oedema). After a few days, due to phagocytosis, a cavity
containing necrotic tissue, dead bacteria and dead phagocytes is formed.

This fluid mixture is often called pus, formation continues until all infection persists.

(f) Acute phase proteins - It is a group of heterogenous plasma proteins which are important in the innate
defense against microorganisms.

In response to tissue invasion, cells such as macrophages and neutrophils secrete a variety of cytokines that
stimulate the liver to produce acute phase proteins.

These proteins inhibit various viral infections.

(g) Natural Killer (NK) cells - The natural killer (NK) cells are non-phagocytic granular lymphocytes.

They kill a range of tumour cells or cells infected by viruses without any antigen specificity.

NK cells release substances called perforin or cytolysin, which lyses the virus infected cell.

Acquired immunity :

The resistance developed by human during his life through exposures to pathogens is known as acquired,
specific or adaptive immunity.

This is different from innate immunity in that it is due to specific antibodies or sensitized lymphocytes
produced in responce to specific antigens.

Hence, this immunity is also known a specific immunity.

Acquired immunity is conferred by lymphocytes.

Lymphocytes are derived from pluripotent haemopoietic mesodermal stem cells in yolk sack of the embryo.

After birth, these cells transform into thymus derived T-lymphocytes and bursa of Facbricius derived
Blymphosytes.

Acquired immunity is of two types : active immunity and passive immunity. Both active and passive
immunity may be natural or artificial.

Active Acquired Immunity :

Acquired immunity is induced by natural exposure to a pathogen or vaccination.

The body learns the kind of mechanism to be employed through exposures. This is a long lasting process. It
may be natural or artificial.
• Natural Active Acquired Immunity : It is acquired through continuous infections caused by bacteria or
viruses which largely remain unnoticed.

• Artificial Active Acquired Immunity : This type of immunity is usually obtained through vaccination or
through administration of toxoids.

Passive Acquired Immunity :

The immunity acquired by administering antibodies or sensitized WBCs from an immune individual is
known as passive acquired immunity.

• Natural Passive Acquired Immunity : This can be acquired through transplacental transfer of
immunoglobulins (IgG) from mother to the fetus.

This immunity lasts for about six months after birth.

These antibodies of maternal origin protect the fetus and the infant from diphtheria, streptococci, tetanus,
mumps, polio, etc.

The secretory immunoglobulin (IgA) present in the mother’s first milk (colostrum) provides immunity in the
gastrointestinal tract of the infant.

The colostrum is rich in macrophages and lymphocytes.

• Artificial Passive Acquired Immunity : It is achieved by administering specific antibodies or antiserum

from one individual to another non-immunized individual e.g. vaccination.

Injection of polyvenin causes passive immunity against snake venom. Anti Tetanus Serum (ATS) also
creates passive immunity against tetanus.

Mechanism of active acquired immunity :

Active immunity is more effective than passive immunity. Active acquired immune response takes two
forms called cell mediated and humoral immune responses.

(i) Cell Mediated Immune Response : The immunity carried out by T-lymphocytes.

Antibodies are not produced. T-lymphocytes or T-cells respond to cells infected by pathogens, such as
viruses and bacteria.

Activated T-lymphocytes undergo proliferation and differentiate into various types of cells, such as T-helper
(TH) and T-cytrotoxic or killer (TC / TK) lymphocytes and memory T-lymphocytes (TM).

TM confers a long term memory against the invading pathogen.

TC / TK cells directly kill or destroy antigens or antigen bearing pathogens.

TH with B-lymphocyte and triggers its transformation into a plasma cell.

(ii) Humoral Immune Response : It is carried out by B-lymphocytes or B-cells.

When B-lymphocytes are sensitized by toxins or antigens, multiply in number and transform into larger cells
called plasma cells or plasmocytes assisted by TH .

The plasma cells are potential antibody secreting cells. The antibodies destroy antigens by species-specific
antigen-antibody interaction.
Antibodies are glycoproteins called immunoglobulins, these are of five types IgM, IgG, IgA, IgD, and IgE.

Structure of Immunoglobulin G (IgG):

IgM is the first antibody synthesized by the new-born infant’s immune system, then replaced by IgG, which
becomes the major antibody in the serum. Its structure is as follows :

1. It is a monomeric structure of four interacting polypeptides, two large polypeptides, called heavy or ‘H’
chains and two small polypeptides, called light or ‘L’ chains.

2. A heavy chain is joined to a light chain of its side by a disulfide (S-S) bond.

3. Two heavy chains are joined to each other by two disulfide bonds.

4. Three fourth (3/4) part of each heavy chain from the C-terminus is made by constant amino acid
sequence. These regions are known as CH1, CH2 and CH3 (C for constant). Remaining one fourth (1/4) part
is made by variable amino acid sequence. This region is known as VH (V for variable).

5. Similarly a half of each light chain from the C-terminus is made by constant amino acid sequence (CL)
and other half by variable sequence (VL).

6. Each heavy chain has a flexible region between CH2 and CH3, IgG become ‘Y’ shaped. This flexible
point is known as the hinge.

7. Oligosaccharide residues are joined to the amino acids of the heavy chain constant region below the
hinge, thus making the antibody a glycoprotein structure.

8. At the N-terminus the variable amino acids of each heavy chain and each light chain of its side, together
constitute a site for recognition of a complementary antigen and binding to it. This site is known as the
antigen binding site (Fab). Thus, IgG has two antigen binding sites.

9. Heavy chains in the constant region have effector functions. Two each of heavy and light interacting
polypeptides constitute a complete unitary structure of IgG.

IgM is the largest antibody having a pentameric structure i.e. five monomeric units, like that of the IgG,
interact and form the structure of IgM.

IgA is the second most abundant antibody of the serum. It is also present in extracellular secretions, like
saliva and first milk of the lactating mothers (colostrums), is a dimeric structure.

IgD has a monomeric structure, bound to B-lymphocyte membrane, IgE also has a monomeric structure,
bound to membrane of basophils and mast cells, where it mediates in the release of histamin.
Antigen antibody interaction :

Antigens (Ag) or immunogens are whole organisms or molecules or foreign origin that can evoke immune
responses and can bind to antibodies (Ab) in a species-specific manner.

Antibody does not interact with the whole antigen but reacts specifically with a part of it called an antigenic
determinant or epitope.

Epitopes are immunologically specific and active sites of an antigen, which bind to complementary part of
an antibody called paratope.

The small antigen with macromolecule is known as a hapten, leads to the formation of antigen-antibody
complex.

The formation of these complxes is known as precipitation or agglutination. The consequence is the
immobilization and precipitation of the antigen.

The complexes are engulfed by macrophages and phagocytes and digested, antigen eliminated from the
body.

Vaccines :

A vaccine can be defined as a preparation of bacterial, viral or other pathogenic agents or their isolated
antigens, which is administered with the objective of stimulating a recipient’s protective immunity.

Vaccine is an antigen or its component that induces acquired immunity in the host, producing T and B-
lymphocytes.

Types of Vaccines : There are several types of vaccines, like natural live, live attenuated, inactivated toxoid,
polysaccharide, recombinant antigen, live vector and DNA vaccines.
• Natural live vaccines : This vaccine includes natural non-pathogenic organisms. Cow pox virus vaccine,
simian and bovine retrovirus vaccines have been used in vaccination.

Currently these vaccines are not used.

• Live attenuated vaccines : Attenuation is the weakening of a pathogenic bacterium or virus by making it
less virulent. Microorganisms are attenuated so they do not cause diseases.

BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) is a commonly used vaccine of this kind against tuberculosis.

These are also used as vaccines for polio, yellow fever and measles.

• Inactivated vaccines : This is obtained by inactivating the whole pathogen or antigen.

The inactivation of pathogen is done by modifying it chemically by formaldehyde treatment or physically by

heat treatment.

Salk polio vaccine, whooping cough vaccine are included in this category.

Advantages of using inactivated pathogen in a vaccine is that there is no danger of mutation or reversion to
the pathogenic form.

• Toxoid vaccine : Some bacterial pathogens such as diphtheria and tetanus bacilli produce exotoxins.

These exotoxins are isolated and chemically modified to lost the toxicity.

These nontoxic immunogenic derivatives of exotoxin or toxoid are commonly used in vaccines.

Examples are diphtheria and tetanus vaccines.

• Polysaccharide vaccines : The capsular polysaccharide of bacteria serves asan excellent vaccine because
it resists immune action. The polysaccharide capsule of Hoemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae
act as good antigens.

• Live Vector vaccines : Desired gene coding for the target antigen of the virulent pathogen is joined to a
suitable vector and then this transformed vector is inoculated into an individual, where the vector slowly
replicates and serves as a source of the said antigen.

The most commonly used viral vectors are small pox virus, adenovirus, and bacterial vectors include
attenuated salmonella typhi, BCG strain of Mycobacterium bovis, Vibrio cholerae, etc.

These vectors act as a source of antigens inside the host.

• Recombinant antigen vaccines : A gene coding antigenic proteins can be introduced and expressed in
yeast, bacterial or even mammalian cells using recombinant DNA technology.

These cells are then cultured in the laboratory and the protein produced is collected.

The gene form surface antigens (glycoproteins).

• DNA vaccine : The DNA vaccine represents a recent type of vaccine in which there is introduction of
DNA plasmid into the muscle cell of the recipient.

The plasmid contains a protein coding gene which acts as an antigen, which is expressed in the cell leading
to both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses.