Medical Immunology Overview

Introduction to Immunology

• Immunology is the study of the immune system's responses and processes.
• The immune system comprises molecules, cells, and tissues defending the body against pathogens and cancer cells.
• The immune response is the body's coordinated defense against harmful organisms and cancer cells.

Course Plan for Medical Immunology

• The course covers various topics in medical immunology, with specific dates and instructors assigned to each lesson.
• Topics include introduction to immunology, immune cells, immune system organs, antibody structure/function, antigen/antibody reactions, lymphocyte development, MHC, and antigen presentation.
• The course also delves into effector mechanisms of innate immunity, inflammation, the complement system, effector mechanisms of cell-mediated immunity, humoral immunity, and immunohematology.

References

• Cellular and Molecular Immunology (10th Edition, 2021) by Abbas, Lichtman, and Pillai
• Basic Immunology, Functions and Disorders of the Immune System (6th Edition, 2023) by Abbas, Lichtman, and Pillai

Session Outlines

• The sessions cover the importance and introduction to immunology.
• Topics include history of immunology, innate and acquired immunity, immunological memory, active and passive immunity.

History of Immunology

• Thucydides (430 BC) observed immunity to diseases.
• Turkish and Chinese practitioners practiced variolation, the intentional inoculation of smallpox material.
• Variolation involved using a lancet to introduce either pulverized dried smallpox scabs or pustule fluid into the skin.
• Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1718) promoted variolation in England.
• Edward Jenner (1796) developed vaccination using cowpox to prevent smallpox.
• Edward Jenner used cowpox virus, also known as vaccinia virus, to create the first vaccination.
• Louis Pasteur (1822–1895) developed vaccines against rabies, black wounds, and chickenpox.
• Smallpox was officially eradicated in 1980.

Effective Vaccines in Infectious Diseases

• The data show dramatic decreases in cases of various diseases, a result of effective vaccines.
• Specific diseases and their maximum recorded cases (year) alongside 2014 cases count and percentage change are detailed.

Definitions

• Immune System: A network of molecules, cells, and tissues that protects the body.
• Immune Response: The body's coordinated defense against pathogens and cancer cells.
• Immunology: The study of the responses and processes of the immune system

Different Fields of Immunology

• The fields of immunology are vast and encompass areas such as infections, autoimmune diseases, allergies, tumors, transplantation, reproductive immunology, immunotherapy, diagnostic immunology, nutrition, and aging.

Innate and Adaptive Immunity

• Innate Immunity: A rapid, non-specific defense against pathogens.
• Adaptive Immunity: A specific and slower response targeting particular pathogens and capable of developing immunological memory.

Types of Adaptive Immunity

• Humoral Immunity: Mediated by antibodies produced by B lymphocytes.
• Cell-Mediated Immunity: Mediated by T lymphocytes, a type of cell.

Features of Innate and Adaptive Immunity

• Innate immunity and adaptive immunity are compared with respect to specificity, diversity, memory, and nonreactivity to self.
• Features include the cellular and chemical barriers, secreted proteins, and various cells involved in each type of immunity.

Development of Adaptive Immune Responses

• Adaptive immune responses involve antigen recognition, lymphocyte activation, differentiation (cell specialization), clonal expansion (cell multiplication), effector elimination, and contraction (regulating homeostasis).
• The responses are typically measured over a period of days.

Specificity, Memory, and Contraction of Adaptive Immune Responses

• This illustrates how immune responses learn to combat disease and improve response over time, a key feature of adaptive immunity.

Active and Passive Immunity

• Active immunity involves an individual's immune system responding to a microbe, creating memory cells.
• Passive immunity involves receiving antibodies from another source, not creating memory cells.
• Both are contrasted based on specificity and memory, with active immunity having both while passive immunity only has specificity.

Immunologists Who Won Nobel Prizes

• A list of notable immunologists, their discoveries, and years are outlined.

Explore the fundamental concepts of medical immunology in this quiz. Topics include immune system responses, cell types, antibody structure, and immune mechanisms. Perfect for students wishing to test their knowledge and understanding of immunology principles.