Aims & Learning Objectives:
To provide a knowledge base of the major components of the immune response, how this system is regulated in health and in combating infection, and how dysregulation can lead to autoimmunity and disease. After completing this unit, the student will appreciate the role of several processes in protecting the host from infectious micro-organisms, and how failure of immune regulation can be associated with a number of pathological states.
Content:
Fundamentals of the immune system - self/non-self discrimination. Antibodies. Antigen presentation to T cells and B cells, the MHC, costimulation, Th1/Th2 cells, cytokine production. Regulation of immune responses - suppression, idiotypes, tolerance - the thymus, apoptosis. Microbial perturbation of host immune response and the contribution of the host response to the pathogenesis of infectious disease. Mechanisms underlying autoimmunity. Effector mechanisms targeting intra- and extra-cellular pathogens, mucosal immunity, oral vaccination, oral tolerance.
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