Agammaglobulinemia Case Study

Agammaglobulinemia

1. What are the differences between nonspecific and specific (immunity) body defenses?

Nonspecific body defenses include the first and second line of defense which responds within minutes to protect the body from foreign invaders. The first line of defense is the skin and mucous membranes which stop invaders from getting in. The second line of defense includes phagocytic cells, inflammation, natural killer cells, antimicrobial proteins and fever. Specific immunity is the adaptive defense system and is the third line of defense. This type of immunity is systemic and responds against specific invaders. Specific immunity builds up memory and is able to recognize invaders after the initial exposure. This type of immunity initially takes longer to respond. (Marieb, 2013)

2. In what tissue do B- and T-lymphocytes originate and what are the two steps involved in lymphocyte maturation?

B and T-lymphocytes originate in red bone marrow. The two steps in lymphocyte maturation are immunocompetence and self-tolerance. B cells develop in the Bone marrow and T cells develop in the thymus. (Marieb, 2013)

3. Describe the two “arms” of immunity.

The two “arms” of immunity are cell-mediated and humoral. The cell-mediated arm includes the activation of T cells. Cell-mediated immunity is intracellular, it defends against infected cells, cancer, and transplanted cells by binding to and lysing the infected cell. Humoral immunity is the activation of B cells. Humoral immunity is extracellular, it responds to viruses and bacteria before they enter cells. It binds to antigens making them targets for phagocytes and complement. (Marieb, 2013)

4. Describe the term antigen and state which class of organic molecules make the best antigens, and why?

Antigens are substances that can mobilize the adaptive defenses and provoke an immune response. The class of organic molecules that make the best antigens are proteins because they have high...