Immunology

Sam Sheppard - Blood Evidence - Importance of preservation & blood-typing
Ludwig Tessnow - The case of the bloody carpenter - Kastle-Meyer Test, Luminol.
Jeannie Donald - Whose blood? - Importance of Blood typing and more.

LSM3223 IMMUNOLOGY

 

Lymph node

Bone Marrow

Epithelial tissues



 

In our body lies a magical world. Like fairytales' fairies, dwarves, witches, tyrants, fairy godmother, princesses, princes and magic, a story in our body unfolds.

ANTIBODIES
Let's take a close look at the biological structure of this molecule which all of us have in us, found not only in blood but yes, mainly in blood.

Looks complicated.. How to study man? Yea right, that's why the human body is amazing. Let's take a simple look again.

 

Hmm looks better than previous diagram BUT what is this? Still don't understand. Yes it's understandable. This diagram's actually showing the many many many molecules involved when two immune cells interact with each other to transmit signals. for what? Well, to carry out its functions in our body. That's why our body can normally recover from flu, fever, wounds and damages.

So let's take a simpeR look at the antibodies.

Ah, looks simpler, isn't it? This diagram shows that antibodies can act as receptors on immune cells as well, for example TCR on T cells. To make things more complicated, accessory molecules are involved as well. What? Why? because these molecules help to make better the binding between receptors on different immune cells. An exmple would be CD8. To make things worse, different types of accessory molecules come into play for specific immune cells. Many more aren't even discovered. To cut things short, the human body is very amazing and research is an endless task which I am not destinated to do. However, I'm greatful for the knowledge I've acquired from the institution whose fees was paid with my sister's cpf fully. She's noble. Oh look, where have I been heading to.

Back to subject, immunology is termed the toughest module in the institution which many have shuned from. This makes me want to challenge it more and I simply love this subject but the application is not simple. Techniques involved and concepts behind them requires patient but well better than research :) Applied science is more relevant to my interest. Right, stop drifting dear me..

Back to the subject,  antibodies are very cute. They are very simple in structure when you draw them in singles but you get a headache when you put them altogether and things will swirl. But that's when amazing things happen in our body.

 

Here is the simplified structure of antibodies (Ab) in human body. Lighter shades of pink and blue are light chain; darker shades of pink and blue are heavy chain; both pink shades are variant regions (with jagged shapes representing very specific/unique binding sites to catch all bad guys bacteria/viruses/parasites); both blue shades are constant regions (which functions to bind on cells and does not change as much in amino bases composition as compared to variant region).

 

 

One Ab molecule consists of two light and two heavy chains. Orange circles are carbohydrates. Two molecules of carb are needed for completion of each Ab molecule.

This is why we need food to boost immunity, fight off intruders in our bodies.

  

IMMUNE CELLS

the one who Links innate immunity & adaptive immunity
by possessing both MHC I and MCH II for Antigen Presentation,
 Travels through lymph nodes (which is present throughout entire body),
reach out to specific T cells with the correct receptor for Ag it was presented with (which then activates specific B cells),
Releases Cytokines for maturaton of adaptive immune cells (e.g. Tcells).

the one who Migrates to site of infection when attracted by Cytokines released from 'site of incident'
(for e.g. IL8 released by activated macrophages wld attract neutrophils)
or when its TLR got ativated by bacteria [components],
Phagocytosed opsonized bacteria & kills by oxidative bursts/lyssozymes/granules release.

the one who Engulfs pathogens or bacteria and treat them to death vis fusion with lysosomes/ oxidative bursts
(but becomes a big problem when it is infected by virus as viruses have mechanisms to evade fusion with lysosomes),
Stays in your tissue layers when matured,
and Possibly clot your arteries together with fat plugs
when you don't exercise sufficient.

the one who Exudes lytic granules (e.g. perforins) upon activation (meaning, detects a reduction of MHC I molecules on infected cell surface) by virus to specifically kill cells infected by the same virus,
or when binds to CD16 (a FcR bound to virus antigens expressed on infected cells).
Antigen presentation comes into play.

ANTIGEN PRESENTATION
e

TUMORS' IMMUNE CELL EVASION
dg

MHC Class I/II molecules
d

TLR
N