Download Immune System 2 Non-Specific External and Internal Defenses(1)

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Transcript
Nonspecific External
and Internal Defenses
Nonspecific External Defenses

The skin and mucous membranes form nonspecific external barriers to invasion

In our bodies, the first line of defense consists of the surfaces with direct exposure to the
environment

The skin

The outer surface of the skin consists of dry, dead cells filled with tough proteins that do not allow the microbes
to obtain the water and nutrients they need to survive

The secretions from sweat and sebaceous glands contain natural antibiotics, such as lactic acid, that inhibit the
growth of many bacteria and fungi
Nonspecific External Defenses

The skin and mucous membranes form nonspecific external barriers to invasion

In our bodies, the first line of defense consists of the surfaces with direct exposure to the
environment

The mucous membranes of the digestive, respiratory, and urogenital tracts

secrete mucus, which traps microbes that enter the nose or mouth

Mucus contains proteins, including lysozome, which kills bacteria by digesting their cell walls, and defensin,
which makes holes in bacterial plasma membranes

cilia on the membranes sweep up the mucus, microbes and all, until it is either coughed or sneezed out of the
body or is swallowed
Bacteria trapped
by mucus
Nonspecific External Defenses

The skin and mucous membranes form nonspecific external barriers to
invasion

Mucus, antibacterial proteins, and ciliary action defend the mucous membranes
against microbes

The slight acidity of urine inhibits bacterial growth

In females, acidic secretions and mucus help protect the vagina

Fluids released by the body, including tears, urine, diarrhea, and vomit, help expel
invaders
Nonspecific Internal Defenses

The INNATE IMMUNE response nonspecifically combats invading microbes

Despite the many defenses, many disease-causing microbes enter the body through the mucous
membranes or through cuts in the skin

Pathogens that get through the external barriers encounter three types of nonspecific innate
immune responses

Protection by white blood cells


The inflammatory response


The body has a standing army of white blood cells, or leukocytes, many of which are specialized to attack and destroy
invading cells or the body’s own cells if they have been infected by viruses
A wound provokes an inflammatory response, which recruits leukocytes to the site of injury and walls off the injured area,
isolating the infected tissue from the rest of the body
Fever

If a population of microbes succeeds in establishing a major infection, the body may produce a fever, which slows down
microbial reproduction and enhances the body’s own fighting abilities
Nonspecific Internal Defenses

Phagocytic leukocytes and natural killer cells destroy invading microbes

The body has several types of leukocytes, collectively known as phagocytes, which
ingest foreign invaders and cellular debris by phagocytosis

Three important types of phagocytes are

Macrophages

Neutrophils

Dendritic cells
Bacteria visible
through a hole in
the macrophage’s
plasma membrane
A macrophage leaves a
capillary and enters a wound
A macrophage stuffed with
bacteria that it has ingested
Nonspecific Internal Defenses

The inflammatory response attracts phagocytes to injured or infected tissue

The inflammatory response causes tissues to become warm, red, swollen, and
painful

The inflammatory response begins when damaged cells release chemicals that
cause certain cells in the connective tissue, called mast cells, to release
histamine

Extra blood flowing through leaky capillaries drives fluid from the blood and into
the wounded area, causing redness, warmth, and swelling

Swelling and some of the chemicals released by the injured tissue cause pain,
which usually leads to protective behaviors that reduce the likelihood of further
injury
dead cell
layer
Tissue damage carries
bacteria into the wound
epidermis
Wounded cells
release chemicals (red)
that stimulate mast cells
Mast cells release
histamine (blue)
dermis
Histamine increases capillary
blood flow and permeability
Phagocytes leave
the capillaries and ingest
bacteria and dead cells
Nonspecific Internal Defense

Fever combats large-scale infections


If invaders breach these defenses and mount a full-blown infection, they may trigger a
fever

The onset of fever is controlled by the hypothalamus, the part of the brain housing temperaturesensing nerve cells that serve as the body’s thermostat

In humans, the thermostat is set at about 97 to 99F
Certain types of bacteria, as well as the phagocytic cells that respond to an infection,
produce chemicals called pyrogens


Pyrogens travel in the bloodstream to the hypothalamus and raise the thermostat’s set point
Fever causes the cells of the adaptive immune system to multiply more rapidly, hastening
the onset of an effective adaptive immune response