Dictionary #5

Caspase: A family of cysteine proteases that cleave after an aspartate residue. The term caspase incorporates these elements (cysteine, aspartate, protease), which play important roles in the chain of reactions that leads to apoptosis.

Anaphylatoxins: The complement split products C3a and C5a, which mediate degranulation of mast cells and basophils, resulting in release of mediators that induce contraction of smooth muscle and increased vascular permeability.

Iccosomes: Immune-complex-coated cell fragments often found coating the spines of follicular dendritic cells.

Dictionary #4

Dark Zone: A portion of the germinal center that is the site of rapid cell division by forms of B cells called centroblasts.

Superantigens: Any substance that binds to the V-beta domain of the T-cell receptor and residues in the chain of class II MHC molecules. It induces activation of all T cells that express T-cell receptors with a particular V-beta domain. It functions as a potent T-cell mitogen and may cause food poisoning and other disorders. 

Tapasin: TAP-associated protein. Found in the ER that brings the TAP transporter into proximity with the class I MHC molecule, allowing it to associate with antigenic peptide. 

Reflections #3

As we near the end of the school year, I cannot believe how fast time passes by. It seems like it was just yesterday when we started learning about Immunology. Before I took this class I knew nothing about the immune system except that it protects our body from sicknesses and that it involves white blood cells. Now I feel like an expert (although I’m not). We learned and covered many topics over the course of the semester such the innate immune system, the adaptive immune system, the characteristics and functions of different types of white blood cells, antigen processing and presentation, the organs of the immune system, the different classes and functions of different antibodies, the structure of B and T cells, MHC, and cytokines. Although it may seem a lot of material, there is so much more to learn.

The knowledge that I gained from this semester will form the foundation that I will need as I continue my education into the Medical Laboratory Science program. I saw in my course outline that some of the courses are based off Immunology such as Immunohematology, Clinical Immunology and Molecular Diagnostics, and Clinical Bacteriology. The labs this semester was beneficial, especially the ELISA test lab, ABO blood typing, and counting the different white blood cells because I had a small glimpse of what medical laboratory scientists work with. If I found the labs this semester fun, I cannot wait what my clinical year in medical laboratory science has in store.

 

Investigations #3

Today in my Animal Physiology class, I saw a picture of a person who had severe swelling of the feet. I was shocked and intrigued at the same time, so I decided to do a little investigation about a disease called elephantiasis. The disease also known as lymphatic filariasis affects over 90 million people in the world, particularly in the tropical and subtropical parts of the world. The disease is characterized by edema with thickening tissues, especially in the legs, arms, and the genitals.

The disease is transmitted by Filarial worms that are ingested by arthropod vectors like mosquitoes, which would then be transmitted to humans when they bite humans for blood. The infection causes a great inflammatory immune response, which results in the development of symptomatic lymphatic obstruction. The larvae of the Filarial worms migrate towards the lymphatic vessels where they would develop to adult worms. The full mechanism of this disease is still not completely understood. However, it is known that there is an increase in the levels of IgE and IgG4. In addition, people who are infected with this disease have been found to have an impaired lymphocyte proliferation response to the Filarial worms and have defects in the antigen-presenting cells function. Studies have found that genetic polymorphism in the parasite and/or host may influence the susceptibility to the infection.

Unfortunately, there is currently no vaccine that is available for this disease. People who live in areas that are at risk of the disease would be given two drugs annually – albendazole with invermectin or with diethylcarbamazine citrate – to prevent the spread of the infection. Although the disease is rarely fatal, it is important to treat the disease early to prevent severe disability.

Works Cited

King, C.L. Transmission intensity and human immune responses to lymphatic filariasis. Parasite Immunology 2001; 23.

Wayangankar, S. [Internet] Filariasis; 2013 [Cited 2014 April 4]. Available from: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/217776-overview#a0156

World Health Organization [Internet]. WHO; 2014 [Cited 2014 April 4]. Available from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs102/en/