The adaptive immune system, also known as the acquired immune system, or specific immune system is a subsystem of the immune system that is composed of specialized, systemic cells and processes that eliminate pathogens or prevent their growth. The acquired immune system is one of the two main immunity strategies found in vertebrates (the other being the innate immune system).
Like the innate system, the adaptive immune system includes both humoral immunity components and cell-mediated immunity components and destroys invading pathogens. Unlike the innate immune system, which is pre-programmed to react to common broad categories of pathogen, the adaptive immune system is highly specific to each particular pathogen the body has encountered.
Adaptive immunity creates immunological memory after an initial response to a specific pathogen, and leads to an enhanced response to future encounters with that pathogen. Antibodies are a critical part of the adaptive immune system. Adaptive immunity can provide long-lasting protection, sometimes for the person's entire lifetime. For example, someone who recovers from measles is now protected against measles for their lifetime; in other cases it does not provide lifetime protection, as with chickenpox. This process of adaptive immunity is the basis of vaccination.
The cells that carry out the adaptive immune response are white blood cells known as lymphocytes. B cells and T cells, two different types of lymphocytes, carry out the main activities: antibody responses, and cell-mediated immune response. In antibody responses, B cells are activated to secrete antibodies, which are proteins also known as immunoglobulins. Antibodies travel through the bloodstream and bind to the foreign antigen causing it to inactivate, which does not allow the antigen to bind to the host. Antigens are any substances that elicit the adaptive immune response. Sometimes the adaptive system is unable to distinguish harmful from harmless foreign molecules; the effects of this may be hayfever, asthma, or any other allergy.
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Ce cours décrit les mécanismes fondamentaux du système immunitaire. Ses connaissances seront ensuite utilisées pour mieux comprendre les bases immunologiques de la vaccination, de la transplantation,
Ce cours décrit les mécanismes fondamentaux du système immunitaire pour mieux comprendre les bases immunologiques dela vaccination, de la transplantation, de l’immunothérapie, de l'allergie et des mal
Humoral immunity is the aspect of immunity that is mediated by macromolecules - including secreted antibodies, complement proteins, and certain antimicrobial peptides - located in extracellular fluids. Humoral immunity is named so because it involves substances found in the humors, or body fluids. It contrasts with cell-mediated immunity. Humoral immunity is also referred to as antibody-mediated immunity. The study of the molecular and cellular components that form the immune system, including their function and interaction, is the central science of immunology.
The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a large locus on vertebrate DNA containing a set of closely linked polymorphic genes that code for cell surface proteins essential for the adaptive immune system. These cell surface proteins are called MHC molecules. The name of this locus comes from its discovery through the study of transplanted tissue compatibility. Later studies revealed that tissue rejection due to incompatibility is only a facet of the full function of MHC molecules: binding an antigen derived from self-proteins, or from pathogens, and bringing the antigen presentation to the cell surface for recognition by the appropriate T-cells.
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1892 article describing a non-bacterial pathogen infecting tobacco plants and the discovery of the tobacco mosaic virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898, more than 11,000 of the millions of virus species have been described in detail.
Ce cours décrit le fonctionnement du système immunitaire humain et les bases immunologiques de la vaccination, de la transplantation, de l'immunothérapie, et de l'allergie. Il présente aussi le rôle d
The students acquire advanced level knowledge regarding the functioning of the (vertebrate) immune system. A strong focus is placed on the molecular mechanisms underlying innate and adaptive immune re
Pattern recognition pathways in innate immunity.
The course aims to teach students about approaches to study mechanisms of innate immune recognition of pathogens.
Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) are the most common bacterial pathogens causing urinary tract infections (UTIs). Driven by the development of antibiotic resistant UPEC strains, UTIs have become
The use of tractable model organisms such as Drosophila melanogaster and the powerful genetic tools they offer has contributed significantly to recent advances in comprehension of innate immunity, not
EPFL2022
Recognition of pathogen-derived molecules through germline-encoded receptors is a fundamental principle of innate immunity. Pattern recognition receptors detect specific intracellular danger signals t