Introduction to the Immune System

Lecture Day 1
 The Immune System
The immune system is a defensive and
counter-attacking system
 It attempts to prevent, or to stop, invasions of pathogens from
causing disease
 Pathogens are disease-causing agents, such as fungus,
bacteria, virus

© 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Immune System
 There are two systems that provide the ability to defend
against pathogens
 Nonspecific (or innate) immunity
 Inborn
 Mounts the same defenses each time, regardless of
the pathogen type
 Specific (or acquired) immunity
 Part is inborn – part develops over course of life
 Mounts a specific attack against a specific pathogen
 Our Immune System Has Three Lines
of Defense

 Innate immunity (nonspecific)

 First line of defense - physical and chemical surface barriers
 Skin, mucous membranes, mucus, hairs, tears, saliva, urine, defecation, and
vomiting
 Sebum, lysozyme, gastric juice, vaginal secretions
 Second line of defense - internal cellular and chemical defenses
 Antimicrobial proteins – interferons and the complement system
 Fever, inflammation, and phagocytes

 Specific immunity
 Third line of defense - immune responses
 Interactions of white blood cells, antibodies, and macrophages
 Also, helps to protect against cancer

© 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

 Stress
 Imbalances which disrupt the body's internal chemistry are
considered stressors
 Stress can arise from many situations that we do not
normally consider stressful
 Digesting food
 Exercising
 Waking after a long sleep
 Walking outdoors after a few hours indoors

© 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Stress
 Infectious disease, ingesting a toxic chemical, or being
exposed to winter storms stress the body
 Invasions of fungal, bacterial, or viral pathogens are also
very important categories of stressors
 General Adaptation Syndrome
 All stressors place physiological demands on the body
 Stressors cause cells to halt routine activities and instead
respond to the immediate demands of that stressor

 The physiological changes associated with stress may alter

sleep patterns or even personality

© 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

General Adaptation Syndrome
The body's response follows a general pattern
Opposing the stressor
Accommodating it
Succumbing to it
  General Adaptation Syndrome

 Governed by the Sympathetic NS

© 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

 The Alarm Phase: Danger is Detected
 The “fight-or-flight” nervous system takes over, and the body jumps into
action
 Controlled by the release of the hormone epinephrine (adrenaline)
 Epinephrine boosts blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate
 Energy reserves are mobilized, blood sugar increases sharply, prepares to defend
itself or flee
 Delivery of highly oxygenated blood to the skeletal muscles is increased
 Sweat production increases
 Heightened mental alertness and increased energy becomes available to the
skeletal muscles
 Circulatory system shunts blood to the organs needed for fighting or fleeing
 Blood moves toward the skeletal muscles and away from the skin, kidneys, and
digestive organs

 A panic attack is a severe and inappropriate triggering of the alarm phase

© 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

 Resistance Phase
The resistance phase is a response to prolonged stress
Body concentrates on surviving the stress rather than evading it
Feelings of fatigue, irritability, and emotional fragileness occur
Brain consumes immense amounts of glucose that it obtains from
the blood
Skeletal muscles begin to break down proteins in response to other
hormonal triggers
Liver converts stored carbohydrates into glucose
Blood volume is conserved by maintaining water and sodium,
simultaneously raising blood pressure
Glucocorticoid hormones responsible for maintaining the
resistance phase inhibit wound healing
© 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Resistance Phase
 The resistance phase lasts until the stress is removed, lipid
reserves are depleted, or complications arise from the
altered body chemistry
 Poor nutrition, physical damage to the heart, liver, or
kidneys, or even emotional trauma can abruptly end the
resistance phase
 The Exhaustion Phase
 The exhaustion phase can be terminal
 Death through organ failure and system shutdown
 Due to accumulated damage

 During exhaustion
 Homeostasis breaks down through the depletion of lipid
reserves and the loss of normal blood electrolyte balance

 Mineral imbalances, due to sodium retention and

potassium loss
 May cause neurons to fail and result in the failure of skeletal
and cardiac muscle

© 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
 After severe stress, some people develop post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) andPost Traumatic Stress (PTS)
 Symptoms include
 Fear and heightened vigilance
 Panic reactions
 Inability to concentrate
 Memory disorders

© 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
 Biologically, PTSD looks like a prolonged resistance phase
of GAS, with a similar picture of hormonal activation
 Victims of PTSD show abnormal brain patterns and changes in
the volume of certain areas of the brain

 Treatment includes psychotherapy and/or psychoactive

drugs
 PTS allows the person to still function

 PTSD inhibits a persons ability to function