autoimmune disease &
immunodeficiency
autoimmune disease
Signs
lost of immunity to self antigen
tissue damage/physiological dysfunction
Rare Single Gene Defects
Associated with Autoimmune Disease
AIRE
Foxp3⭐
no need to know the exact mechanism,
women are more prone
to autoimmune diseases
example: systemic lupus erythematous (SLE)⭐
- from the learning outcomes, you should have a comprehensive overview of SLE
what
- immune system attacks its own tissues and causes widespread inflammation and tissue damage in the affected organs
- presents as fatigue, skin rashes, pain and swelling in the joints
Treatment
- immunosuppressive drugs that inhibit the activity of the immune system
immunodeficiency
categories of immunity
primary immunodeficiency (rare)
- Intrinsic defect in the immune system
secondary immunodeficiency
- Underlying disease adversely affects immune system
clinical manifestations
of immunodeficiency
infections
increased incidence of certain cancers (eg cancers associated with viral infections)
(because the immune system cannot identify the malignant cells to prevent the tumour)
insert the photo with the summary of immune mechanisms of microbial defence (search this in whatsapp)
examples of primary
immunodeficiency conditions
primary immunodeficiency: Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)
- group of genetically determined disorders resulting in impairment of both the B anc T cell arms of the adaptive immune system
secondary (acquired) immunodeficiency:
- basically just any virus/illness
- HIV, removal of spleen
go through the cases in the notes
Specific example: HIV infections
- infects CD4+ cells and causes progressive destruction of these cells
- the CD4 cells are initially able to mitigate the immune response, but over time the CD4 cells deplete and hence they cannot fight the virus
- from the graph, CD4 cells will never be able to reduce the virus to zero, only to set point
- the immune system is not strong enought
- this is because the HIV 1 is has an antigenic coat --> meaning that its coat constantly mutates to give different antigens to evade the immune system response
insert the photo for the graph on the HIV infections
insert the photo for the text on clinical phases of the infection
opportunistic infections
- in immunodeficient individuals, microbes will seize the opportunity to cause infection
- mycobacteria, pneumocystis jirovecii
- rupture in the wall of GI tract --> flora in GI tract will escape into cavities where the flora is not normally found --> sepsis