Lecture 1 – Chapter 1 (Elements of the Immune System and their
Roles in defense) & Chapter 2 (Innate Immunity: the Immediate
Response to Infection)
− immune system – a diffuse, complex network of interacting cells, cell products, and cell-
forming tissues
− protects the body: from pathogens and other foreign substances, destroys infected
and malignant cells, removes cellular debris
− needs to discriminate between self and non-self and harmless versus harmful
− there is a delicate balance in immune activation (inflammation) and inhibition (tolerance)
− a disbalance in immunity can cause (severe) disease
− before we can use our immune system for treatment, we need to know what the right
balance is, how it’s achieved, and what exactly causes disbalance
− the greatest triumph of immunology vaccine, a procedure that prevents severe disease by
exposing healthy humans to the infectious agent in a form that does not cause disease
− provides human immune systems with the experience they need to make a strong
response (one with little risk to health and life)
− first used against smallpox
,Elements of the Immune System and Their Roles in Defense
− in our blood we can find multiple immunological components
− these cells and molecules are subdivided in two main immunological categories: innate
versus adaptive immunity
,
, − hematopoiesis – the development of immune cells with two important common precursors
Roles in defense) & Chapter 2 (Innate Immunity: the Immediate
Response to Infection)
− immune system – a diffuse, complex network of interacting cells, cell products, and cell-
forming tissues
− protects the body: from pathogens and other foreign substances, destroys infected
and malignant cells, removes cellular debris
− needs to discriminate between self and non-self and harmless versus harmful
− there is a delicate balance in immune activation (inflammation) and inhibition (tolerance)
− a disbalance in immunity can cause (severe) disease
− before we can use our immune system for treatment, we need to know what the right
balance is, how it’s achieved, and what exactly causes disbalance
− the greatest triumph of immunology vaccine, a procedure that prevents severe disease by
exposing healthy humans to the infectious agent in a form that does not cause disease
− provides human immune systems with the experience they need to make a strong
response (one with little risk to health and life)
− first used against smallpox
,Elements of the Immune System and Their Roles in Defense
− in our blood we can find multiple immunological components
− these cells and molecules are subdivided in two main immunological categories: innate
versus adaptive immunity
,
, − hematopoiesis – the development of immune cells with two important common precursors
