Practise immune-system questions by sequencing phagocytosis, recognising antigens and explaining T-cell, B-cell, plasma-cell and memory-cell responses.
Some pathogens can enter the human body through the gas exchange system.
The infectious lung disease, pneumonia, can be caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Most healthy people inhaling air containing these bacteria do not become ill because of the action of the alveolar macrophages.
Outline the mode of action of an alveolar macrophage in response to the presence of S. pneumoniae.
You may use diagrams with notes to help your answer.
Irritants in tobacco smoke can contribute to emphysema, one of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders (COPD). In emphysema, the alveoli lose their ability to recoil on expiration and can burst.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a disease of the joints in the human body.
RA is classed as an auto-immune disease where the immune system treats some self antigens as non-self.
Explain what is meant by the term non-self antigens.
Nerium oleander is a xerophytic plant. A photomicrograph of a section through the leaf of N. oleander is shown in Fig. 3.1.
Fig. 3.1
Monoclonal antibody can be produced that is specific to cyFBPase. This antibody is used by investigators to check that the plants with the c y F B P mutation do not synthesise this enzyme.
In monoclonal antibody production, a small mammal is inoculated with cyFBPase and several weeks later cells are removed from the spleen. Some of these cells are required for the production process.
Describe the events occurring within the body of the small mammal that lead to the formation of the cells needed for monoclonal antibody production.