Kinetics of Antibody Formation and Immune Response Quiz

Kinetics of Antibody Formation and Immune Response

• The immune response involves both innate and adaptive immune responses, coordinated by antigen presenting cells (APCs).

• The three types of APCs are dendritic cells, macrophages, and B cells, which interact with antigens in unique ways.

• APCs break down antigens into immunogenic epitopes, which can trigger adaptive immune responses.

• T-dependent antigens are proteins, while T-independent antigens are polysaccharides, lipids, or nucleic acids.

• The innate immune response does not have memory or kinetics, while the adaptive immune response does.

• Memory is embedded within B and T cells, not within the antibody molecules themselves.

• The fate of the immunogen involves equilibration, catabolic decay, and immune elimination phases.

• The equilibration phase involves the diffusion of the antigen through the biological system.

• The catabolic decay phase involves the breakdown of the immunogen, with little immunological response.

• The immune elimination phase involves the rapid clearance of the circulating antigen, triggered by the adaptive immune response.

• The kinetics of the immune response differ between the first exposure (primary response) and subsequent exposures (secondary response).

• The primary response to T-dependent antigens involves a standard bell-shaped curve of antibody titer over time, while the secondary response involves a quicker onset of the immune elimination phase.Kinetics and Quality of Antibody Responses

• Antibody responses to specific antigens follow a bell curve with a lag period, logarithmic growth, peak antibody production, and a decline phase.

• The kinetics of the antibody response vary depending on the type of antigen and infectious disease, with some responses occurring in hours to days, while others can take months.

• The lag period of the antibody response corresponds to the equilibration and catabolic decay phase of the antigens, while the logarithmic phase is the immune elimination phase.

• The secondary immune response follows a bell curve as well, but with a shorter lag period, higher antibody titer production, and a protracted plateau phase.

• The secondary immune response is dominated by memory cells, which produce predominantly IgG antibodies rather than IgM.

• The primary immune response is dominated by IgM antibodies, with a smaller bump in IgG antibodies due to clonal selection and class switching.

• Affinity maturation occurs during the secondary immune response, which results in tighter fitting antibodies to antigens due to somatic hypermutation in the germinal center of lymph nodes.

• The affinity of IgM antibodies to antigens does not change significantly over subsequent exposures, as a separate population of IgM-producing B cells is always present.

• The quality of antibody responses varies between primary and secondary immune responses, with the latter producing more specific and higher affinity antibodies.

• The kinetics and quality of antibody responses are highly specific to the antigen and infectious disease being targeted.

• Antibody responses can provide protection against subsequent exposures to the same antigen, with the secondary immune response providing a faster and more effective response due to memory cells.

• Antibody responses are key in protecting against infectious diseases, and understanding the kinetics and quality of these responses is crucial in developing effective vaccines and treatments.Affinity Maturation, Cross-Reactivity, and Autoimmunity

• There are two types of B cells: conventional B cells and CD5-positive B cells, also known as B1 cells.

• CD5-positive B cells are more primitive and mainly produce IgM antibodies with a general affinity.

• Conventional B cells produce antibodies of different classes and can undergo class switching.

• Affinity of antibodies improves over time through affinity maturation, which is better in the secondary immune response than in the primary immune response.

• Affinity is inversely related to the dose of antigen, with low doses leading to tighter binding affinities.

• Autoimmune disorders can be triggered by infectious agents and are often due to cross-reactivity between antigens from the infectious agent and self-antigens.

• Cross-reactive antigens have low affinity in the early stages of immune response but can lead to higher affinity antibodies in the presence of high antigen doses.

• B cells are antigen-processing cells and become great APCs in low antigen concentrations.

• Clonal selection and affinity maturation through somatic mutation are proven through experiments with B cells in petri dishes.

• Autoimmune disorders are a type of hypersensitivity and can result from cross-reactivity between antigens of infectious agents and self-antigens.

• Cross-reactivity can occur when antigens from infectious agents resemble self-antigens.

• Affinity maturation improves antibody binding affinity over time and is inversely related to antigen dose.The Kinetics of Immune Responses to T-Dependent and T-Independent Antigens

• Clonal selection occurs when a B cell recognizes an antigen and is activated to produce antibodies.

• Affinity maturation and somatic hypermutation can occur in response to T-dependent antigens, leading to the production of cross-reactive antibodies.

• Vaccines are given in small doses to avoid generating cross-reactive antibodies by accident.

• Memory B cells are generated in the secondary response to T-dependent antigens.

• T cells coordinate with B cells to provide permission to make antibodies and generate cytokines that drive immune reactions.

• Memory T cells can provide long-term immunity, as seen in survivors of the Spanish flu and potentially in response to COVID-19.

• T-independent antigens, such as polysaccharides, only generate IgM antibodies and do not undergo affinity maturation or class switching.

• Thermodynamically conservative immune responses occur to conserve energy in response to lower-level immunological phenomena, such as the production of IgM antibodies to polysaccharides.

• Molecular events in B cells, such as DNA rearrangement and transcription factor binding, lead to the production of different isotypes of antibodies.

• The first antibody made in response to an antigen is typically IgM, but the same binding can be attached to different isotypes as the antibody titer switches.

• Transcription factors bind to switch sites in the DNA to regulate the production of different isotypes of antibodies.

• Cytokines drive the immune response to specific antigens, leading to the production of different isotypes of antibodies.