immunization

Examples of immunization in the following topics:

• Natural Active Immunity

  • Naturally acquired active immunity occurs when a person is exposed to a live pathogen, develops the disease, and then develops immunity.
  • Immunity is the state of protection against infectious disease conferred either through an immune response generated by immunization or previous infection, or by other non-immunological factors.
  • Naturally acquired active immunity occurs when the person is exposed to a live pathogen, develops the disease, and becomes immune as a result of the primary immune response.
  • Immunization (commonly referred to as vaccination) is the deliberate induction of an immune response, and represents the single most effective manipulation of the immune system that scientists have developed .
  • The principle behind immunization is to introduce an antigen, derived from a disease-causing organism, that stimulates the immune system to develop protective immunity against that organism, but which does not itself cause the pathogenic effects of that organism.

• Passive Immunization

  • Passive immunization can be exogenously administered (artificial) or transferred from mother to fetus (natural).
  • There are two types of passive immunity: artificial and natural .
  • For the newborn to have lasting protection, active immunity must be received.
  • Natural immunity occurs through contact with a disease causing agent, when the contact was not deliberate, where as artificial immunity develops only through deliberate actions of exposure.
  • Passive immunity is short lived, and usually lasts only a few months, whereas protection via active immunity lasts much longer, and is sometimes life-long.

• Primary and Secondary Antibody Responses

  • The immune system protects organisms from infection first with the innate immune system, then with adaptive immunity.
  • Innate immune systems are found in all plants and animals.
  • Both innate and adaptive immunity depend on the ability of the immune system to distinguish between self and non-self molecules.
  • This type of immunity is both active and adaptive because the body's immune system prepares itself for future challenges.
  • Active immunity often involves both the cell-mediated and humoral aspects of immunity as well as input from the innate immune system .

• Overview of the Immune System

  • This process of acquired immunity is the basis of vaccination.
  • Innate immune systems are found in all plants and animals.
  • Adaptive immunity is often sub-divided into two major types depending on how the immunity was introduced.
  • Both naturally and artificially acquired immunity can be further subdivided depending on whether immunity is induced in the host or passively transferred from an immune host.
  • A further subdivision of adaptive immunity is characterized by the cells involved; humoral immunity is the aspect of immunity that is mediated by secreted antibodies, whereas the protection provided by cell-mediated immunity involves T lymphocytes alone.

• Adaptive Immunity and the Immunoglobulin Superfamily

  • Adaptive immunity is stimulated by exposure to infectious agents and recruits elements of the immunoglobulin superfamily.
  • The components of adaptive immunity are lymphocytes and their products.
  • There are two types of adaptive immune responses: humoral immunity and cell-mediated immunity.
  • They are commonly associated with roles in the immune system.
  • Describe the role of immunoglobulins in the adaptive immune response, specifically in humoral immunity

• Artificial Immunity

  • Artificial immunity is a mean by which the body is given immunity to a disease by intentional exposure to small quantities of it.
  • Immunity is the state of protection against infectious disease conferred either through an immune response generated by immunization or by previous infection or other non-immunological factors.
  • Artificially-acquired passive immunity is an immediate, but short-term immunization provided by the injection of antibodies, such as gamma globulin, that are not produced by the recipient's cells.
  • Natural immunity occurs through contact with a disease causing agent, when the contact was not deliberate, where as artificial immunity develops only through deliberate actions of exposure.
  • Passive immunity is short lived, and usually lasts only a few months, whereas protection via active immunity lasts much longer, and is sometimes life-long.

• Natural Passive Immunity

  • Naturally acquired passive immunity occurs during pregnancy, when antibodies are passed from the maternal blood into the fetal bloodstream.
  • Immunity is the state of protection against infectious disease conferred either through an immune response generated by immunization or previous infection, or by other non-immunological factors.
  • The immune responses reach full strength at about age 5.
  • Passive immunity can also be in the form of IgA and IgG found in human colostrum and milk of babies who are nursed.
  • IgA antibodies are transferred from mother to child in colostrum and milk and confer passive immunity.

• Vaccination

  • The various antigenic materials used in these vaccinations (or immunization) may be of animal or plant origin.
  • Moreover, active immunization should cause permanent antigenic memory or lifelong immunity.
  • Sometimes booster vaccinations are needed to provide additional immunity in certain individuals and in certain cases.
  • Once your immune system has been trained to resist a disease, you are said to be immune to it.
  • Describe how active immunity to diseases can be acquired by natural exposure or by vaccination

• Extracellular Immune Avoidance

  • A pathogen's success depends on its ability to evade the host's immune responses.
  • A pathogen's success depends on its ability to evade the host's immune responses.
  • A lot of pathogens release compounds that misdirect or diminish the host's immune response.
  • Some bacteria even form biofilms which protect them from the proteins and cells of the immune system.
  • Another common strategy that is used is to mask antigens with host molecules in order to evade detection by the immune system.

• Immunotherapy for Cancer

  • Cancer immunotherapy is the use of the body's own immune system to reject cancer.
  • Cancer immunotherapy is the use of the body's own immune system to reject cancer.
  • This can be either through immunization of the patient (e.g., by administering a cancer vaccine such as Dendreon's Provenge), in which case the patient's own immune system is trained to recognize tumor cells as targets to be destroyed, or through the administration of therapeutic antibodies as drugs, in which case the patient's immune system is recruited to destroy tumor cells by the therapeutic antibodies.
  • The injected immune cells are highly cytotoxic to the cancer cells and so help to fight them.
  • Antibodies are a key component of the adaptive immune response.