Immunity.

Prepared by:-
Ms. Nisha Prasad.
INTRODUCTION:
• Everyday our body comes in contact with several pathogens, but only
a few results into diseases.
• Why?
• Immunity:
• It is the ability of the body to defend itself against disease causing
organisms.
• The reason is, our body releases antibodies against these pathogens
& protects body against diseases.
• This defence mechanism is called as immunity.
DEFINITION: Immunity.
• Immunity is the ability of the body to protect against all types of
foreign bodies like bacteria, virus, toxic substances etc. which enter
the body.

• Lack of immunity is known as susceptibility.

• Immunity is done by immune system which is a complex network of

lymphoid organs such as bone marrow, thymus, spleen etc.
TYPES OF IMMUNITY:
There are two major types of
immunity:

Innate Acquired
immunity / immunity or
natural or non adaptive
specific immunity.
immunity.
INNATE IMMUNITY:
• This type of immunity is present by birth.
• It refers to the body’s defense system.
• This is activated immediately when the pathogen attacks.
• It is a long-term immunity in which our body produces the antibodies
on its own.
• Our body has few natural barriers to prevent the entry of pathogens.
• Some natural resistance in our body includes salivary enzymes,
natural killer cells, intact skin & neutrophils, etc.
 TYPES OF BARRIERS IN INNATE
IMMUNITY:
• The four types of barriers are:-

Physical barrier. Physiological Cellular Cytokines

barriers. barriers. barriers.
Physical barrier:
• It includes:
• Skin,
• Body hair,
• Eyelashes,
• Respiratory tract and
• Gastrointestinal tract.

• These form the first line of defence in our body.

Physiological barrier:
• It includes:
• Saliva of mouth,
• Tears in our eyes,
• Hydrochloric acid (HCL) in stomach.

• Due to acidic nature of some of these fluids, most of the germs that
enter our body get killed before the further disease causing
processes.
Cellular barriers.
• It includes:
• Cells like WBC(WHITE BLOOD CELLS) Leukocytes.
• Neutrophils,
• Lymphocytes,
• Basophil,
• Eosinophil,
• Monocytes.
• All these cells are present in our blood & tissue.
Cytokine barriers:
• Phagocytes,
• Macrophages,
• Mast cells,
• Natural killer cells,
• Dendritic cells.
• As soon as invasion of virus occurs, these cells automatically secrets
proteins called interferons which forms a coating around infected cell
& prevent the cells around it from further infections.
• Phagocytes:-
They circulate through the body & if any foreign substance (pathogen)
found then they engulf & destroy that.

• Macrophages:-
These have ability to move across the walls of circulatory system. They
release certain signals as cytokines to recruit other cells at the site of
infection.

• Dendritic cells:-
These are located in the tissues that are the points for initial infections.
• Natural killer cells:-
These stop the spread of infection by destroying the infected host cells.
ACQUIRED IMMUNITY/ Adaptive
immunity:
• It is not present by birth.

• It is the immunity that our body acquires or gains over time.

• The ability of immune system to adapt itself to disease …..and to

generate pathogen specific immunity…….is known as acquired
immunity.
• It mainly consists of an advanced lymphatic defence system which functions
by recognizing the own body cells and not reacting to them.

• The immune system of our body identifies the pathogens encountered in the
past.
• When it encounters with the first time, it is called as primary response.

• Once a body gets used to these pathogens, antibodies are ready to attack
them for the second time and are known as naturally acquired immunity.

• It is mainly caused when a person comes in contact with the pathogen or its
antigen.
TYPES OF ACQUIRED IMMUNITY:
• ACTIVE IMMUNTIY:
• It refers to the protective immunity where the individual’s
own immune system stimulates for producing antibodies
and lymphocytes.
• Requires exposure to a pathogen or to the antigen of a
pathogen.
• Involves humoral and cell-mediated immunity.
• PASSIVE IMMUNITY:

• It refers to the immunity where a person receives antibodies or

lymphocytes which another individual’s immune system
receive.

• Does not require exposure to an infectious agent or its antigen.

• Conferred only by readymade antibodies.

Features of acquired immunity:-
• Specificity: our body has the ability to differentiate between different
types of pathogens, whether it is harmful or not, and different ways to
destroy them.
• Diversity: our body can detect varieties of pathogens ranging from
protozoa to virus.
• Differentiate between self & non self: our body has the unique ability
to differentiate between its own cells & foreign cells.
• Memory: once our body encounters a pathogen it remembers what
antibodies were released in response to that pathogen, so that, next
time enters, a similar procedure is followed by the body to eliminate it.
 Cells involved in acquired immunity:
• It involves two types of cells:

B- T-
CELLS CELLS
B- cells:
• They develop in the bone marrow.
• These cells are activated on their encounter with foreign agents.
• The B- cells immediately differentiate into plasma cells which produce
antibodies specific to that foreign agent/(antigen).
• These antibodies attach to the surface of the antigen/ foreign agent.
• These antibodies detect any antigen in the body & destroy it.
• The immunity dependent on B- cells is called HUMORAL IMMUNITY.
T- Cells:
• They originate in the bone marrow and develop in the thymus.
• T- cells differentiate into helper cells, cytotoxic cells, & regulatory
cells. These cells are released into the blood stream.
• When these cells are triggered by an antigen, helper t-cells release
cytokines that act as messengers.
• These cytokines initiate the differentiation of B-cells into plasma cells
which release antibodies against the antigens.
• The cytotoxic T- cells kills the cancer cells.
• Regulatory T-cells regulate immune reactions.
ANTIBODIES:-
• Antibody (Ab) is also known as an immunoglobulin(Ig). These are
large, Y-shaped blood proteins produced by plasma cells.

• Whenever our immune system encounters antigen or a pathogen, B

cells get activated immediately releasing antibodies into the
bloodstream. These immunoglobulins undergo mitosis resulting in cell
division and continuously produce antibodies as a result of producing
more cells.
• An antibody has a Y-shaped structure, made up of four polypeptide
subunits. Each subunit has two identical light and heavy chains.

• Types Of Antibodies
• Antibodies or immunoglobulins(Ig) are of five different isotypes. This
classification is on the basis of their H chains. Let’s look at the
different types of immunoglobulins and their functions.
 IgM
• IgM is the first antibody produced in response to a microbial attack by B
cells.
• It is the largest antibody and is found in a pentameric form.
• It circulates in the blood and lymph and constitutes 6% of the total
antibody content in the serum.
• It is involved in agglutination and opsonization.
• It has a large number of antigenic sites on its surface and therefore
facilitates efficient activation of the immune system.
 IgG
• Most abundant isotype in the plasma, and comprises 80% of the total
antibody content in the serum. It detoxifies substances that are harmful
and recognizes the antibody-antigen complex.
• It is transferred to the placenta through the foetus and protects the infant
until its birth.
• IgG is divided into four subclasses- IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4. Among
these, only IgG3 and IgG4 possess the ability to cross the placenta.
• It facilitates the process of phagocytosis and provides immunity to the
developing fetus.
 IgA
• Usually found in liquids such as breast milk, serum, saliva, fluids of the
intestine. IgA in breast milk protects an infant’s gastrointestinal tract from
microbial activity.
• It constitutes 13% of the total antibody content in the serum and is divided
into 2 sub-classes- IgA1 and IgA2. Among these, IgA1 is highly found in
the secretions and is also called the secretory immunoglobulin.
• It exists in both monomeric as well as dimeric forms.
• It provides the first line of defence against the pathogens and limits
inflammation. It also activates the complement pathway and participates in
the immune response.
 IgD
• It is involved in the production of the antibody by B cells.
• It is present as a monomer and weighs around 1,80,000 dalton.
• It comprises less than 1% of the total antibody content in serum.
• It acts as a receptor on B cell surface and participates in B cell activation
and differentiation.
IgE
• IgE is present in the least amounts, around 0.02% of the antibody
content in the serum.
• These are present in the linings of the respiratory and intestinal tracts
and respond to allergic reactions.
• This is found as a monomer in the body and weighs about 200,000
Dalton.
Functions of Antibody
• Binds to pathogens
• Activates the immune system in case of bacterial pathogens
• Directly attacks viral pathogens
• Assists in phagocytosis
• Antibody provides long-term protection against pathogens because it
persists for years after the presence of the antigen.
• It neutralizes the bacterial toxins and binds the antigen to enhance its
efficiency.
• They also act as the first line of defence for mucosal surfaces.
• They ingest cells by phagocytosis.
AUTOIMMUNITY:
• Sometimes the immune system attacks its own tissues and organs
instead of the foreign agents.
• This is called autoimmunity.

• Type 1 diabetes is an example of autoimmune disease.

HYPERSENSTIVITY:
• Hyper means exaggerated or increased, the sensitivity
means susceptibility or response.

• These are the reactions that are mostly regarded as an immune

system's overreaction to its own cells.

• It produces discomfort as well as allergic responses in certain people.

IMMUNOPROPHYLAXIS:
• Immunoprophylaxis is the prevention of disease by the pro-
duction of active or passive immunity.

• Immunoprophylaxis against viral illnesses includes the use of

vaccines or antibody-containing preparations to provide a susceptible
individual with immunologic protection against a specific disease.
VACCINES:
• Vaccination is a form of artificial immunity. By artificially stimulating
the adaptive immune defenses, a vaccine triggers memory cell
production similar to that which would occur during a primary
response.
IMMUNIZATION:
• It is a process providing resistant to pathogenic microbes and other
infectious disease by the administration of a vaccine into the body.
IMMUNIZATION SCHEDULE:
SERELOGICAL TESTS:
• Serology is the scientific study of serum and other body fluids.

• In microbiology, serologic tests are used to determine if a

person has antibodies against a specific pathogen, or to detect
antigens associated with a pathogen in a person's sample.
THANK YOU.
ANY QUERY?