Introduction to Anatomy & Physiology

THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

DR. MILIMO
BSc.HB, MBChB, MPH, MSc.EB*,MSc, DTM,
AdvCert.Psy.
 Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
• Discuss the role of the innate immune response against pathogens
• Describe the power of the adaptive immune response to cure disease
 IMMUNE SYSTEM
• The immune system consists of three components:
• (1) physical barriers between the external and
internal environments, including epithelium (skin and
the mucous membranes lining the respiratory, renal, and
gastrointestinal systems) and chemicals such as the acidic
environment of the stomach.
• (2) leukocytes (white blood cells), which are
responsible for producing a wide range of immune
responses.
• (3) lymphoid tissues, such as the bone marrow,
thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, and tonsils, in which
leukocytes develop, reside, and come into contact
with foreign materials.
 IMMUNITY
• Immunity refers to resistance of the body to
pathogens and their toxic products. It can be
classified as:
• I. Innate immunity
• II. Acquired immunity
• 1. Active acquired immunity
• 2. Passive acquired immunity
 INNATE IMMUNITY
• Innate or natural immunity is the inborn
capacity of the body to offer resistance to
pathogens and their toxic products.
• It is due to genetic and constitutional make up of an
individual.
Mechanisms of innate immunity
 Mechanisms of innate immunity
• 1. Mechanical barrier against invading microorganism is provided by
the intact skin and mucosa in the body.
• 2. Surface secretions constitute one of the important mechanisms of
innate immunity. These include:
• Secretions from the sebaceous glands of skin contain both
saturated and unsaturated fatty acids that kill many bacteria and
fungi.
• Saliva, constantly produced in the mouth cavity, has an inhibitory
effect on many micro-organisms.
• Gastric juice and highly acidic environment of stomach may
hydrolyze microbial invaders.
• Tears poured in the conjunctival sac mechanically wash away the
particles and a hydrolytic enzyme, lysozyme present in the tears
can destroy most of the micro-organisms
• 3. Humoral defence mechanisms provide innate immunity by the
non-specific microbicidal substances present in the body fluids. A few
examples are:
• Lysozyme is found in high concentration in most tissue fluids
except cerebrospinal fluid, sweat and urine. It is a mucolytic enzyme
which kills micro-organisms by splitting sugars of the structural
mucopeptide of their cell wall.
• Basic polypeptides containing non-specific microbicidal activity
include leukins, arginine and lysine containing proteins protamine
and histone.
• Complements have lytic and several other effects on the foreign
substances
• Interferons are antiviral substances produced by the cells
stimulated by live or killed viruses. The α and β interferons are part
of the innate immunity
• 4. Cellular mechanisms of defence, which provide nonspecific
innate immunity are:
• Phagocytes, i.e. neutrophils and the monocyte–macrophage system
cells constitute the most important non-specific cellular defence
against the invading micro-organisms.
• Natural killer (NK) cells refer to a subpopulation of lymphocytes
which provide non-specific cellular defence against viruses, tumour
cells and other infected cells.
• Eosinophil granules contain enzymes and toxic molecules that act
against larvae of helminths.
 ACQUIRED IMMUNITY
• The resistance that an individual acquires during his lifetime is known as
acquired immunity.
• It is antigen-specific and may be antibody-mediated or cell-mediated.
It is of two types: active and passive.
• 1. ACTIVE IMMUNITY: Active immunity is acquired by the synthesis of
antibodies (humoral immunity) and production of immunocompetent cells
(cell-mediated immunity) by the individual’s own immune system in
response to an antigenic stimulation.
• Natural and artificial active immunity: Active immunity can be induced
naturally or artificially.
• (i) Natural active immunity: Natural active immunity results either from
a subclinical or a clinical infection.
• (ii) Artificial active immunity: Artificially, the active immunity is
induced by introducing antigens in the body in the form of vaccines and
this process is called active immunisations. The vaccines are
preparations of live or killed microorganisms or their products.
• 2. PASSIVE IMMUNITY
• Passive immunity refers to the immunity that is
transferred to a recipient in a ready-made form. Here
the individual’s immune system does not play an active role.
Natural and artificial passive immunity
• (i) Natural passive immunity: It is transfer of ready-made
antibodies from the mother as:
• In fetus, the IgG antibodies are transferred from the
mother through the placenta.
• After birth, immunoglobulins are passed to the newborn
through the breast milk. Human colostrum is rich in IgA
antibodies which are resistant to digestion in stomach and
small intestine.
• Passively transferred antibodies are generally against all
common infectious diseases in the locality. These confer
immunity on the neonate up to three months of age.
Therefore, most paediatric infections are more common
after the age of three months when maternal
immunoglobulins disappear.
• By active immunization of mother during pregnancy the
immune status of the neonate can be improved. Therefore,
immunization of pregnant women with tetanus toxoid is
recommended in countries where neonatal tetanus is
common.
• (ii) Artificial passive immunity: Artificially, passive immunity can
be transferred to the recipients by injecting ready-made antibodies.
This is done by the administration of hyperimmune sera.
• Examples of artificial passive immunity include injection of:
• Antitetanus serum
• Antidiphtheritic serum
• Antigas gangrene serum
• The passively administered antibodies are removed by metabolism.
Therefore, immunity conferred is short lived.