Immune System - Feedback Mechanims

The immune system
 The immune system is the body’s natural defense against disease-causing

agents such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
 The immune system is made up of a complex and vital network of cells and
organs that protect the body from infection.
 It plays an important role in identifying and eliminating abnormal cells.
 The Human Immune System is divided into two broad groups:
o Acquired immune system
 Always working to protect the body and does not require any
special preparation to stop infection.
 B cell community
o Consists of b cells
o Produce anti-bodies
o Involved with primary and secondary response
 T cell community
o Cytotoxic t-cell
o Innate immune system
 Needs to be printed before it can work to its full effectiveness
though, and is only really effective after it has seen a possible
infective agent before.
 Resistance of skin
 Destruction of organisms by the acid in the stomach
 Chemical compounds in the blood
 Cells called macrophages that ingest foreign objects
 Structure and organs of the immune system

o Capillaries have thin walls which allow fluid in body tissues to flow
between the capillaries and tissues.
 Interstitial fluid
 Fluid in the spaces between tissues
 Lymph
 Once the interstitial fluid flows into the lymph capillaries,
it is called the lymph.
o Blood stream—interstitial fluid—lymphatic capillary
—lymphatic vessel—lymphatic trunk—right
lymphatic duct or thoracic duct—right subclavian
vein (neck)
 Structure and organs of the immune system

o Lymph nodes
 Specialized organs that produce lymphocytes
 Filter harmful substances from the tissues
 Contain macrophages that devour foreign substances
 Lymphocytes produce specialized protein called antibodies that
fight disease
 Antigens also fight disease by stimulating an immune response in
other cells.
o Lymph
 Travels in only one direction
 Empties into the right thoracic duct and the lymphatic duct
 Lipids are transported from the small intestines to the blood stream
by the lymph vessels.
 Location of major groups of lymph nodes:
 Tonsils
 Adenoids
 Necks
 Armpit
 Groin
 Mediastinum
o Spleen
 Largest lymphatic organ located in upper left portion of the
abdominal cavity
 Filters foreign material from the blood
 Destroys old red blood cells
 Activates lymphocytes
 Fights invading germs in the blood
 Controls the level of blood components
o Thymus gland
 Soft gland with two lobes
 Larger during infancy and childhood
 T cells (T lymphocytes provide immunity)
 Thymosin—stimulates the production of T cell—aids with T cell
movement

o MAJOR PLAYERS
 The major players in the immune system include:
 Macrophage
 T cells (Helper, cytotoxic, memory)
 B cells (plasma, memory)
 Antibodies
 Antibodies
o Are assembled out of protein chains
o There are many different chains that the immune
system assembles in different ways to make different
antibodies
FEEDBACK MECHANISM
 Why do organisms use the feedback mechanism?
o The body uses feedback mechanisms to monitor and maintain the
physiological activities. Based on the outcome, it decides whether it
should continue performing a specific action, or if it should stop the action.
This is called the feedback mechanism
 Types of Feedback mechanisms
o Positive feedback mechanism
 In a positive feedback system, the output enhances the original
stimulus. The positive feedback is the one which responds to the
perturbation in the same direction as the perturbation. It tends to
initiate or accelerate a biological process?
 How body maintain homeostasis?
 Example
o Blood clotting
 One common example of a positive feedback
system in living things is blood clotting. When
skin is cut and a blood vessel experiences a
blood clotting.
 Break or tear in blood vessel wall will
initiate the feedback cycle
 Clotting occurs as platelets adhere to
site and release chemicals
 Released chemicals attract more
platelets
 Clotting proceeds until break is sealed
by newly formed clot. Feedback cycle
ends.
 Digestion
 When food reaches the stomach, the
molecule pepsinogen undergoes a
reaction to become pepsin, a digestive
enzyme. The action of pepsin digesting
food triggers the conversion of even
more pepsinogen into pepsin.
 Lactation
 The sucking action of an infant produces
prolactin, which leads to milk production.
More suckling leads to more prolactin,
which in turn lead to more prolactin. This
is a positive feedback system as the
product—milk—produces more suckling
and more hormone.
 Childbirth
 Positive feedback mechanism during
child birth in humans. The release of
oxytocin from the posterior pituitary
gland during labor is an example of
positive feedback mechanism.
Contraction of the uterus during child
birth causes the release of oxytocin.
Oxytocin stimulates the muscle
contractions that push the baby through
the birth canal. The release of oxytocin
results in stronger or augmented
contractions during labor.
o Negative feedback mechanism
 In negative feedback, the body works to correct a deviation from a
set point, it tries to get back to normal.
 The effector of a process reduces the effect of the stimulus, which
in turn decreases the production of the product.
 Examples
o One common example of a negative feedback system
in living things is increase in body temperature
 Body temperature rises. Blood vessels dilate,
resulting in heat loss to the environment.
Sweat glands secrete fluid. As the fluid
evaporates, heat is lost from the body. Heat is
lost to the environment. Therefore, the
temperature of the body goes back to normal.
 Body temperature falls. Blood vessels
constrict so that heat is conserved. Sweat
glands do not secrete fluid. Shivering—
involuntary contraction of muscles—generate
heat, which warms the body. Heat is retained.
Therefore, the body temperature goes back to
normal.
o Blood sugar level
 How body maintain our blood sugar level if it
increases or decrease by negative feedback
system?
o Blood pressure
 Regulation of blood pressure is an example of
negative feedback. Blood vessels have
sensors called baroreceptors that detect if
blood pressure is too high or too low and send
a signal to the hypothalamus.
 When blood increases, signals are sent to the
brain from the blood vessels. Signals are sent
to the heart from the brain and heart rate slows
down, thus helping blood pressure to return to
normal.
o Sensation
 When the body is dehydrated, osmoreceptors
in the brain’s hypothalamus detect this and
release signals that cause the organism to feel
thirst. In this example, the stimulus is low water
levels—dehydration—and the response is to
increase water intake.

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The immune system

 The immune system is the body’s natural defense against disease-causing

 Structure and organs of the immune system

 Structure and organs of the immune system

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