Homework notes- protecting against disease

Section 1- the body defenses lines

- Pathogen- a microorganism, virus, or a protein that can cause a disease

First defense line

- The body’s first defenses against pathogens are mucous membranes and the
skin.

- Mucous membranes- Cover internal body surfaces, such as digestive,

respiratory, and reproductive tracts. They produce a thick, sticky fluid named
mucus. Mucus traps pathogens before they can cause infection.

Second defense line

- Pathogens sometimes cross the body’s physical barriers, when it happens the
body responds with a second line of defense which is called, nonspecific immune
responses.

- Non-specific immune responses- the defense system with which you were born.
It protects you against all antigens.

How can the body protect itself from pathogens?- non-specific immune
responses

1. Fever- When you have a fever the body is defending itself by rising up the
body temperature when that happens, it makes it harder for the
pathogens to spread more.

2. Protein activation- the body produces proteins that attack pathogens

3. Inflammation- when chemicals and cells gather at the site of infection and
destroy the pathogens.

The third line of defense

- Macrophase- a white blood cell that ingests and destroys general pathogens,
after a macrophase destroys a pathogen it displays the pathogen's antigens
(antigen- a substance that stimulates an immune response) on its surface. The
display alert the specific immune response, the response occurs when general
responses fail and when a pathogen has infected a cell. It involves white blood
cells or immune cells to target the particular pathogen.

- Immune cells have receptors that can only recognize certain antigens. The shape
of these receptors matches the exact same shape of specific antigens.

What is the difference between specific and non-specific immune responses?

- Nonspecific protective mechanisms repel all microorganisms equally, while the specific
immune responses are tailored to particular types of invaders.
Section 2- eliminating invaders

- White blood cells are called macrophages they ingest and destroy general pathogens.

- They display antigens from the pathogens on their surface, this display
activates specific immune cells called T cells

- T cells- a white blood cell that activates the specific immune response,
they have receptors on their surface that bind to specific antigens, this
binding causes T cells to grow and divide.

- T cells regulate the function of other cells in the immune system

- When pathogens infect a body cell the cell displays its pathogen's antigens on its
surface when that happens T cells release a chemical signal to activate a second type of
T cell, called cytotoxic T cell.

- Cytotoxic T cells- are white blood cells that destroy pathogens inside
body cells, they have the same receptors as the T cells and destroy the
cell and its pathogens.

- T cells also activate another type of white blood cell called B cell.

- B cells- are white blood cells that begin the process of destroying
pathogens outside body cells, they also have the same receptors as T
cells.

- B cells produce another type of white blood cell called plasma cells

- Plasma cells- produce and release antibodies

- Antibodies- proteins that match specific antigens, they circulate

through the body in the blood and lymph until they find and bind
matching antigens.

- B cells also produce memory cells

- Memory cells- white blood cells that have receptors for specific
antigens, what they do is circulate through the body and if the
same pathogen that was destroyed wants to come back they are
prepared to start a rapid immune response. They produce T cells,
cytotoxic T cells, and plasma cells, together these cells attack the
pathogen before it can cause any harm to the body, this process
is called immunity.

- The body can develop immunity with the help of a vaccine, a vaccine is usually a
combination that contains dead or weakened pathogens, that is because dead or
weakened pathogens cant cause an illness.

- The pathogens that the vaccine carries with them trigger the immune response, the
response includes the production of memory cells, if the actual pathogen entered the
 body after a vaccination the immune system would be prepared to destroy the invaders
before they can cause any harm.

Section 3- immune system dysfunctions

- An allergy is an immune response to an antigen that is weak or harmless. Antigens for

allergies are called allergens, they don't cause a response in every person.

- Sometimes the immune system will attack certain body cells as if they were pathogens,
this causes a condition called an autoimmune disease.

- In some people, the immune system doesn't properly fight infections because it's
deficient, people with immune deficiencies get infections by pathogens that healthy
immune systems eliminate before they cause harm. These infections are called
opportunistic infections.

- In rare diseases, babies are born without any functioning B cells or T cells, and they can
get life-threatening infections.

- Immune deficiency can be caused by medication it can also be caused by infections.

Vocabs-

Section 1-

1. antigen- a substance that stimulates an immune response

2. histamine- is a chemical that stimulates the autonomous nervous system, secretion of

gastric juices, and dilation of capillaries inflammation is a protective response of tissues
affected by disease or injury; characterized by pain, swelling, redness, and heat

3. The macrophage- is an immune system cell that engulfs pathogens and other materials

4. mucous membrane- the layer of epithelial tissue that covers internal surfaces of the body
and that secretes mucus

5. pathogen- a microorganism, another organism, a virus, or a protein that causes a

disease; an infectious agent

Section 2-

1. antibody- a protein that reacts to a specific antigen or that inactivates or destroys toxins

2. B cell- is a white blood cell that matures in bones and makes antibodies

3. the cytotoxic T cell- is a type of T cell that recognizes and destroys cells infected by a
virus
 4. helper T cell- a white blood cell necessary for B cells to develop normal levels of
antibodies

5. immunity- the ability to resist or recover from an infectious disease

6. the memory cell- is an immune system B cell or T cell that does not respond the first
time that it meets with an antigen or an invading cell but that recognizes and attacks the
antigen or invading cell during subsequent infections

7. a plasma cell- is a type of white blood cell that produces antibodies vaccine a substance
prepared from killed or weakened pathogens and introduced into a body to produce
immunity

Section 3-

1. AIDS- acquired immune deficiency syndrome, a disease caused by HIV, an infection

that results in an ineffective immune system allergen a substance that causes an allergic
reaction

2. Allergy- a physical response to an antigen, which can be a common substance that

produces little or no response in the general population.

3. autoimmune disease- a disease in which the immune system attacks the organism’s
own cells

4. HIV- human immunodeficiency virus, the virus that causes AIDS

Pathogens presentation- notes

- A disease is any change other than the injury that disrupts the normal functions of the
body.

Microorganisms

- Microorganisms that cause disease are called pathogens

- They make you sick by damaging individual cells as they grow.
- The diseases that are caused by pathogens are called infectious diseases

Viruses

- Viruses are genetic materials surrounded by a protein coat

- They force the host cell to make more viruses
- Viruses are really small, they are smaller than a red blood cell
- The treatment for viruses is antiviral drugs

Pathogens

- Pathogens can spread through direct contact for example infected organism, soil, food,
or water. It can also spread through indirect contacts such as air and contaminated
objects.