Principles of

Immunology

General Biology 1/2

Microbiology & Parasitology
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Scientists believe that
the Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome
Coronavirus 2
(SARS-CoV-2) that is
responsible for the
Coronavirus Disease
2019 (COVID-19)
pandemic may have
originated from bats in
Wuhan, China. 2
What makes this virus
so problematic is that
it is completely new to
humanity—humans
have not yet
developed an
immunity to it.
3
We have been living
alongside various
disease-causing agents
such as bacteria, viruses,
and fungi, and part of our
evolution, including that
of plants and animals,
was to develop immunity
against their pathogenic
effects.
4
 Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Discuss the components of the immune system;

● Explain the nonspecific defense mechanisms and
specific defense mechanisms of the host;
● Give examples of active and passive immunity;

5
 Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Define vaccine and explain why vaccination

occurs;
● List down vaccines for immunization commonly
used;
● Explain types of hypersensitivity reaction;
● Discuss the disorders associated with the
immune system.
6
Tic-Tac-Toe

7
Tic-Tac-Toe

8
Tic-Tac-Toe

9
Tic-Tac-Toe

10
Questions

1. What are the revealed words?

2. How are the words related to your body’s
mechanisms?
3. What do you think is happening in your
body if the words given in the activity are
present?

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 Introduction to Pathogenic Infections

Human Flu Avian Influenza Eggplant Leaf Spot

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 Introduction to Pathogenic Infections

A pathogen is any biological

agent that can cause disease in
humans, plants, and animals.

Human Flu Avian Influenza Eggplant Leaf Spot

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 Introduction to Pathogenic Infections

Viruses Bacteria Fungi Protozoans

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 Pathogens in Humans
Viruses Bacteria Fungi Protozoans

SARS-Cov-2 Mycobacterium Aspergillus Entamoeba

(COVID-19) (Tuberculosis) (Aspergillosis) (Amoebiasis) 15
 Pathogens in Animals
Viruses Bacteria Fungi Protozoans

A(H5N1) Virus Salmonella Candida Giardia lambia

(Avian Influenza) (Salmonellosis) (Candidiasis) (Giardiasis)
16
 Immunity

Organisms have defense and

immune mechanisms in place to
protect them from infection.

17
 Immunology

● the study of immune system or immunity

● the study of all aspects of host defense against infection
and of adverse consequences of immune responses
● the study of the physiological mechanisms which enable
the body to recognize materials as foreign and to
neutralize, metabolize or eliminate them without injury to
the host tissue

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 Immunology

Immunity
● State of protection from infectious diseases

Immune system
A remarkably versatile defense system that has evolved to
protect animals from invading pathogenic microorganisms
and cancer.
It is able to generate an enormous variety of cells and
molecules capable of specifically recognizing and eliminating
an apparently limitless variety of foreign invaders.
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Animal Immunity

Epithelial Surfaces

Animal
Defenses
and
Innate Immunity
Immunity

Adaptive Immunity

20
Animal Immunity

First line of physical

Epithelial Surfaces defense against infections

Animal
Defenses
and
Innate Immunity
Immunity

Adaptive Immunity

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Animal Immunity

First line of physical

Epithelial Surfaces defense against infections

Animal
Defenses Faster but non-specific
and
Innate Immunity immune response
Immunity

Adaptive Immunity

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Animal Immunity

First line of physical

Epithelial Surfaces defense against infections

Animal
Defenses Faster but non-specific
and
Innate Immunity immune response
Immunity

Acquired immunity that is

Adaptive Immunity specific and stronger

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 Animal Immunity

Skin or Integument Mucus Secretions

Epithelial First line of defense

against pathogens
Surfaces
Separate internal from
Innate external environments
Immunity
Possible the formation
of tight junctions
Adaptive
Immunity
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 Animal Immunity

Skin or Integument Mucus Secretions

Epithelial
Surfaces Specialized secretions
of the epidermis
Innate
Immunity Impart antibacterial to
the integument
Adaptive
Immunity
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 Animal Immunity
Inflammation Complement RNA Interference

Interferons Natural Cell Killers

Epithelial
Surfaces Immediate response to
tissue damage or
Innate infection
Immunity
Redness, swelling,
increase in temperature
Adaptive
Immunity
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 Animal Immunity
Inflammation Complement RNA Interference

Interferons Natural Cell Killers

Epithelial
Surfaces

Innate
Immunity

Adaptive
Immunity
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 Animal Immunity
Inflammation Complement RNA Interference

Interferons Natural Cell Killers

Epithelial
Surfaces

Innate
Immunity Formation of a membrane
attack complex
Adaptive Disrupts osmotic balance
Immunity leading to lysis
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 Animal Immunity
Inflammation Complement RNA Interference

Interferons Natural Cell Killers

Epithelial
Surfaces
Destruction of viral RNA
molecules
Innate
Immunity Prevents further
replication and spread of
Adaptive the viral infection

Immunity Polio virus, an RNA virus

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 Animal Immunity
Inflammation Complement RNA Interference

Interferons Natural Cell Killers

Epithelial
Surfaces Recognition through
the cytokines of
infected cells
Innate
Immunity Consequent
degradation of host
cell RNAs
Adaptive
Immunity
Human interferon 30
 Animal Immunity
Inflammation Complement RNA Interference

Interferons Natural Cell Killers

Epithelial
Surfaces Recognize and destroy
infected host cells
Innate
Immunity Also target detected
cancer cells
Adaptive
Immunity
Human lymphocyte 31
 Animal Immunity

Antibody Formation

Recognition of
Epithelial pathogens through
surface antigens
Surfaces

Innate Takes days to have a

protective effect
Immunity
Effect becomes more
Adaptive rapid and stronger
Immunity
32
How do the innate and adaptive
immune systems work together
to protect the animal body?

33
 Let’s Sum It Up!

● Pathogens are disease-causing agents that

include viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other
parasites.

● Animals and plants have mechanisms to combat

pathogens and respond to them if they attempt
to infect cells and tissues.
34
 Let’s Sum It Up!

● Animals have innate immunity, and some have

both adaptive and innate forms of immunity.
Innate immunity refers to the faster and more
immediate response of the immune system to the
presence of pathogens. Adaptive immunity is
slower to respond but is usually more effective.

35
 Let’s Sum It Up!

● Plants have PAMP-triggered immunity, which

recognizes molecules present in pathogens. They
also have effector-triggered immunity that can
cause a hypersensitive response.

● The hypersensitive response of plants can cause

the formation of lesions.
36
Let’s Sum It Up!

Diversity of animal immune mechanisms

37
The Role of Antibodies in
the Immune System

General Biology 1/2

Microbiology & Parasitology
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Vaccines are specific and help protect against certain
diseases.

39
Vaccines work on the
concept of antibodies,
which are proteins
that the immune
system produces to
help defend the body.

40
Vaccines can utilize
harmless elements from
particular pathogens to
prime the immune system,
so that if the pathogen is
actually encountered, it is
met with a stronger
secondary (‘memory’)
response and dealt with
more quickly.

41
 In light of the
COVID-19
pandemic,
learning more
about how
antibodies
protect the body
is even more
important.
42
 Common Vaccines

✔ Chickenpox (Varicella)
✔ Diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping
cough (pertussis) (DTaP)
✔ Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
✔ Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)
✔ Polio (IPV) (between 6 through 18
months)
✔ Pneumococcal (PCV)
✔ Hepatitis A (HepA)
✔ Hepatitis B (HepB)

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How does antibody-mediated
immunity work?

44
 The Adaptive Immune System

If the innate immune system is not able to

deal with the pathogens immediately, then
the adaptive immune system will target
these pathogens for destruction.

45
The Adaptive Immune System

antibody-mediated
immune response

Components of
adaptive immune
system
cell-mediated
immune response
46
 The Adaptive Immune System

B Cells

● B cells, which are types of lymphocytes, mature in the

bone marrow.
○ They are the ones that are responsible for
secreting antibodies, which are also known as
immunoglobulins, in response to a pathogenic
invasion.

47
 The Adaptive Immune System

Hematopoiesis

● White blood cells start off as a hematopoietic stem

cell which develops into either a myeloid progenitor
or a lymphoid progenitor.
○ The differentiation of these cells is a process
called hematopoiesis.

48
 The Adaptive Immune System

The products of
hematopoiesis

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The Antibody-Mediated Response

Processes in the Antibody-Mediated

Response

B cell Plasma Cell Clonal

activation Differentiation Selection

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 The Antibody-Mediated Response

B cell activation

Naive B cells are

activated for
differentiation when
they bind to pathogens.

B cell activation through the

attachment of antigens 51
 The Antibody-Mediated Response

Plasma Cell
Differentiation

Activated B cells can

differentiate into
plasma cells that
produce large amounts
of antibodies.
Formation of memory B cells and
plasma cells from naive B cells
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 The Antibody-Mediated Response

Clonal Selection

The process of
presenting the antigen
and selecting the cells
that can respond to this
antigen

The process of clonal selection

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 Antibodies

Antibodies

● Antibodies are Y-shaped proteins that B cells release in

order to bind to specific antigens.

● Antibodies are created in response to the presence of

antigens but these do not directly destroy the
pathogens. Instead, they serve several functions that help
other cells and processes in destroying the pathogens.
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Antibodies

Antigen-antibody interactions in the immune system

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Antibodies

Specificity Memory

Features of Antibodies

Self-tolerance Structure

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 Antibodies

Features of Antibodies
● Specificity: Antibodies bind to the antigens that
they were specifically created to target.

● Memory: B cells can specifically remember the

presence of any repeated infections.

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Antibodies

Features of Antibodies

● Self-tolerance: Antibodies only usually target

foreign bodies and substances inside the body.
○ If antibodies to work against the body’s own
healthy tissues, then this is known as
autoimmunity.

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 Antibodies

Structure of Antibodies

● Antibodies are made up

of two light chains and
two heavy chains of
polypeptides. Each
chain of polypeptides
has a constant region
and a variable region.
The parts of an antibody
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Antibodies

The five distinct types of antibodies

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 Antibodies
Isotype Description
IgG IgG is the main antibody that is present in human blood. It helps with the
complement system and helps in neutralizing toxins.
IgA IgA is a very stable antibody that can survive even in harsh environmental
conditions.
IgE IgE is found on the surface of mast cells, basophils, and other types of
white blood cells. These can help in the release of cytokines and
histamines.
IgM IgM is a B cell receptor and can bind antigens and enhance the
phagocytosis of pathogens by other cells.
IgD IgD is also a B cell receptor and helps in inducing the production of other
antibodies. 61
Antibodies

Agglutination helps protect the body from harmful substances,

toxins, and pathogens. This process also forms the
antigen-antibody complex. 62
 Antibodies

Functions of Antibodies

Neutralization Complement Opsonization

Fixation Antibodies can coat the
Antibodies bind to
surfaces of pathogens,
pathogens and block Antibodies activate the
and this process marks
specific sites in order to complement system of
these pathogens for
lower their capacity for the innate immune
destruction through the
infecting the cells of the system through
process of
body. complement fixation.
opsonization.

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Antibodies

Opsonization involves antibodies marking the pathogens for

destruction by phagocytic cells. 64
Challenge Yourself

What are examples of the ways by

which the adaptive immune system
works with the innate immune
system?

65
 Let’s Sum It Up!

● The adaptive immune system allows the body to

target specific pathogens and can build long-term
immunity.

● The adaptive immune system also works with the

innate immune system to more efficiently protect
the body against pathogens.

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

● The antibody-mediated response is a major

response done by the adaptive immune system. It
uses antibodies to protect the body against
pathogens.

● Antibodies are proteins that are produced by B cells.

These proteins mark pathogens and help in
destroying them.

67
 Let’s Sum It Up!

● Antibodies also boost phagocytosis through

opsonization or aid the complement system through
complement fixation.

68
 Disorders of
Immune System

General Biology 1/2

Microbiology & Parasitology
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
 Hypersensitivity

● Hypersensitivity reactions (HR) are immune responses

that are exaggerated or inappropriate against an antigen
or allergen.
● Coombs and Gell classified hypersensitivity reactions into
four forms. Type I, type II, and type III hypersensitivity
reactions are known as immediate hypersensitivity
reactions (IHR) because they occur within 24 hours.
Antibodies including IgE, IgM, and IgG mediate them.

70
 Hypersensitivity

The four types of hypersensitivity are:

✔ Type I: reaction mediated by IgE antibodies

✔ Type II: cytotoxic reaction mediated by IgG or IgM
antibodies
✔ Type III: reaction mediated by immune complexes
✔ Type IV: delayed reaction mediated by cellular response

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 Type I: reaction mediated by IgE antibodies

• Type I or Anaphylactic Response

• The anaphylactic response is mediated by IgE
antibodies that are produced by the immune
system in response to environmental proteins
(allergens) such as pollens, animal danders, or
dust mites.

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 Type I: reaction mediated by IgE antibodies

• Type I hypersensitivity reactions can be seen in

bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, allergic
dermatitis, food allergy, allergic conjunctivitis,
and anaphylactic shock.

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 Type II: cytotoxic reaction mediated by IgG or
IgM antibodies

• Type II or Cytotoxic-Mediated Response

• IgG and IgM mediate cytotoxic-mediated
responses against cell surface and extracellular
matrix proteins.
• The immunoglobulins involved in this type of
reaction damage cells by activating the
complement system or by phagocytosis.

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 Type II: cytotoxic reaction mediated by IgG or
IgM antibodies

• Type II hypersensitivity reactions can be seen in

immune thrombocytopenia, autoimmune
hemolytic anemia, and autoimmune
neutropenia.

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 Type III: reaction mediated by immune complexes

• Type III or Immunocomplex Reactions

• These are also mediated by IgM and IgG antibodies that
react with soluble antigens forming antigen-antibody
complexes.
• Type III hypersensitivity reactions can classically be seen
in serum sickness and Arthus reaction.

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 Type IV: delayed reaction mediated by
cellular response
• Type IV hypersensitivity reaction is mediated by T
cells that provoke an inflammatory reaction against
exogenous or endogenous antigens.
• In certain situations, other cells, such as monocytes,
eosinophils, and neutrophils, can be involved.
• After antigen exposure, an initial local immune and
inflammatory response occurs that attracts leukocytes
• Examples of illnesses resulting from type IV
hypersensitivity reactions include contact dermatitis and
drug hypersensitivity.
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 Autoimmune Disease

• Autoimmune disease happens when the body’s natural

defense system can’t tell the difference between your
own cells and foreign cells, causing the body to
mistakenly attack normal cells.
• There are more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases
that affect a wide range of body parts.

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 Autoimmune Disease

The most common autoimmune diseases in women are:

• Rheumatoid arthritis, a form of arthritis that attacks the

joints
• Psoriasis, a condition marked by thick, scaly patches of
skin
• Psoriatic arthritis, a type of arthritis affecting some
people with psoriasis

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 Autoimmune Disease

The most common autoimmune diseases in women are:

• Lupus, a disease that damages areas of the body that

include joints, skin and organs
• Thyroid diseases, including Graves’ disease, where the
body makes too much thyroid hormone
(hyperthyroidism), and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, where it
doesn’t make enough (hypothyroidism) of the hormone

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 Autoimmune Disease

Despite the varying types of autoimmune disease, many of them share

similar symptoms. Common symptoms of autoimmune disease include:

✔ Fatigue
✔ Joint pain and swelling
✔ Skin problems
✔ Abdominal pain or digestive issues
✔ Recurring fever
✔ Swollen glands

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 Immunodeficiency

• Immunodeficiency disorders prevent your body from

fighting infections and diseases
• Immunodeficiency disorders are either congenital or
acquired.
• A congenital, or primary, disorder is one you were born
with.
• An acquired, or secondary, disorder is one you get later
in life. Acquired disorders are more common than
congenital disorders.

82
 Immunodeficiency

Your immune system includes the following organs:

✔ spleen
✔ tonsils
✔ bone marrow
✔ lymph nodes

Examples of antigens that your B and T cells might need to fight off include:
✔ bacteria
✔ viruses
✔ cancer cells
✔ parasites
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 What is a weak immune system?

• If you have a weaker immune system, you’re

immunocompromised
• This means your body can’t fight off infections or
viruses as well as people who are not
immunocompromised.

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 Signs of an immunodeficiency disorder

Individuals with immunodeficiency disorders tend to have frequent

infections — one round after another — of certain conditions, such as:

✔ pink eye
✔ sinus infections
✔ thrush
✔ colds
✔ chronic gum disease (gingivitis)
✔ pneumonia
✔ yeast infections

85
 Types of Immunodeficiency Disorders

Examples of primary immunodeficiency disorders include:

• common variable immunodeficiency (CVID)

• severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), which is also
known as alymphocytosis
• chronic granulomatous disease (CGD)

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 Types of Immunodeficiency Disorders

Secondary immunodeficiency disorders happen when an outside source

like a chemical or infection weakens your body. The following can cause a
secondary immunodeficiency disorder:

• severe burns
• chemotherapy
• radiation
• diabetes mellitus
• malnutrition

87
 Types of Immunodeficiency Disorders

Examples of secondary immunodeficiency disorders include:

• AIDS
• cancers of the immune system, like leukemia
• immune-complex diseases, like viral hepatitis
• multiple myeloma (cancer of the plasma cells, which
produce antibodies)

88
 Causes and Risk factors

Primary immunodeficiency disorders are most commonly

caused by inherited gene mutations.

Secondary immunodeficiency disorders can be caused by a

variety of things, including:

✔ chronic conditions (like diabetes or cancer)

✔ drugs
✔ radiation therapy (this is rare)
✔ long-term hospitalization
✔ insufficient nutrition
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