Adaptive Immunity and Immunological

Tolerance

Characteristics of adaptive immunity

➢ Specific
➢ Memory: Allowing an accelerated second response
➢ Recognition of self versus non-self
➢ Involves T and B cells
 Adaptive Immunity
The Two Major Arms of the Adaptive Immune System

- Humoral immunity—where special glycoproteins called

antibodies are produced by B cells to destroy specific
microbes

- Cell-mediated immunity—involves a variety of cell types,

with antibodies playing only a minor role

Burton’s Microbiology 10th edition

 Adaptive Immunity
Origin of Lymphocytes
 Adaptive Immunity
Humoral Immunity involves the production of antibodies

Burton’s Microbiology 10th edition

 Humoral Immunity
Antibodies

➢ Proteins produced by lymphocytes

(B-Lymphocytes, Plasma cells) in
response to the presence of an
antigen (a trigger)

➢ Antibodies Belong to a class of

proteins called
immunoglobulins—globular
glycoproteins in the blood that
participate in immune reactions
Antibodies are present in the
following tissues and cells

Burton’s Microbiology 10th edition

 Antibodies are produced when they
encounter Antigens

Antigen: Foreign organic substances that are large enough to

stimulate the production of antibodies

Substances capable of stimulating antibodies are said to be

antigenic (or immunogenic)

A bacterial cell has many molecules (antigenic determinants) on

its surface that are capable of stimulating the production of
antibodies

Shadia M, et al; 2016: Book chapter

 Humoral Immunity
Basic Structure of Antibodies

➢ Fc region: Fragment crystalizable region: The tail region of an antibody that interacts with cell surface receptors
and some proteins of the complement system
➢ Fab: The antigen binding fragment : A region on the antibody that binds to antigens and it consists of one constant
and one variable domain of each of the heavy and light chain

http://www.couleurs-cabanes.fr/modules/com_rokcandy/antibody-structure-
1921.html?antibody-structure-1921
Humoral Immunity
Antibody Isotypes

https://www.invivogen.com/review-antibody-isotypes
Antibody Isotypes
 Antibodies

The amount and type of antibodies produced by a given antigenic

stimulation depend on:

Nature of the antigen

The site of antigenic stimulus
The amount of antigen
The number of times the person is exposed to the antigen
 Antibodies

➢ The processing of antigens results in B cells developing into plasma cells,

which are capable of secreting antibodies.

➢ The initial immune response to an antigen is called the primary response;

it takes 10 to 14 days for antibodies to be produced

➢ The increased production of antibodies following the second exposure to

a particular antigen is called the secondary response or memory response

➢ Immune responses to antigens in the blood are usually initiated in the

spleen; responses to microbes and other antigens in tissues are generated
in lymph nodes located near the infected area.
Role of Antibodies
Antibody Production by Plasma Cells

➢ The combination of an antibody and and an antigen is

called an antigen-antibody complex, Ag-Ab complex, or
immune complex

➢ Memory B cells: Are cells produced by B lymphocytes

that will remember the same pathogen for faster
antibody production in future infections

Burton’s Microbiology 10th edition

 Adaptive Immunity
(Cellular Immunity) T- Lymphocytes

Helper T cells
Secrete Cytokines
Induce Cell mediated immunity by
(macrophages, cytotoxic T-cells, NK cells

Cytotoxic T cells (Killer cells)

Kill infected body cells
Some T cells are helper cells others are killer cells

https://immunetravels.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/url.jpeg
 Adaptive Immunity (Cellular Immunity)
T lymphocytes in action

Antigen presenting cells APCs alert T cells

by presenting pieces of the antigen on
their cell surface through MHCs

MHCs : The major histocompatibility

complex (MHC) is a set of cell surface
proteins, they mark a cell as self
Class I MHC : found on all nucleated body cells
Class II MHC: found only in APCs
Adaptive Immunity (Cellular Immunity)
T lymphocytes in action

Cytokines : Powerful Chemical Substances secreted by cells that

enables the immune cells to communicate with one another

Benjamin Cummings, 2001

 Adaptive Immunity (Cellular Immunity)
The Killing Action of Cytotoxic T-Cell

Perforin: A pore forming Protein secreted by Cytotoxic T cells forms pores in infected cells
Granzymes: Pro-apoptotic protease secreted by Cytotoxic T cells induces programmed
cell death in the target infected cell

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/250126-designer-virus-
created-tells-immune-system-fight-cancer
Adaptive Immunity (Humoral Immunity)
 Types of Immunity

Active immunity
• Natural active immunity- Acquired due to infection
• Artificial active immunity- Vaccination

Passive immunity
• Natural passive immunity- Placenta to the fetus and
Colostrum
• Artificial passive immunity- Injection of immune
serum

Burton’s Microbiology 10th edition

 Adaptive Immunity

You learned that some bacteria possess polysaccharide capsules, which prevent
phagocytes from ingesting these bacteria. Explain why phagocytes are unable to attach to
the encapsulated bacteria, and then describe ways in which the host’s defense
mechanisms can overcome this problem?

Compare and contrast humoral and cell-mediated immunity

The blood of a young child contains IgM antibodies against a particular pathogen
(let’s call it pathogen X). What conclusion can be drawn?
 Immunological Tolerance

Immune Tolerance

➢ Is the tendency of T and B lymphocytes to ignore bodies‘ own tissues.

Maintaining tolerance is important because it prevents the immune
system to attack it’s own cells

Significance
➢ All individuals are tolerant of their own antigens (Self-Tolerance); breakdown
of self-tolerance results in Autoimmunity.

➢ Therapeutic potential: Inducing tolerance may be used to prevent graft rejection,

treat autoimmune and allergic diseases, and prevent immune responses in gene
therapy and stem cell transplantation
 Immunological Tolerance

2 Types of Tolerance

➢ Central
➢ Peripheral

https://www.genscript.com/self-tolerance.html
 Immunological Tolerance

Receptor Editing:
Is a process by which immature B cells that recognize self antigens in the bone marrow
may be induced to change their Ig specificities. This involves the production of a new Ig
light chain which is not self reactive
 Immunological Tolerance

Clonal deletion:
When an immature T cell in the thymus or an immature
B cell in the bone marrow undergoes apoptotic death
as a consequence of recognizing a self antigen
 Immunological Tolerance

Regulatory T-cells:
Population of T cells that regulates the
activation of other T-cells and is necessary
to maintain peripheral tolerance
to self antigens
 Immunological Tolerance

Anergy:
State of unresponsiveness to antigenic stimulation