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Lecture

Effector Molecules: Complement Activation & Interferons

In course

BIO-310: Immunology

Ce cours décrit le fonctionnement du système immunitaire humain et les bases immunologiques de la vaccination, de la transplantation, de l'immunothérapie, et de l'allergie. Il présente aussi le rôle des cellules souches dans la formation des tissus, notamm ...

Description

This lecture covers the activation of complement system, including the classical, lectin, and alternative pathways, and the role of effector molecules like antimicrobial peptides and type I interferons in innate immunity. It explains the functions of complement cascade, such as pathogen lysis and inflammation, and the defense mechanisms induced by type I interferons against viral infections.

In MOOC

Introduction to immunology (part 1)

Instructors (2)

Bruno Lemaitre

David Michael Suter

Official source

Quiz

Ontological neighbourhood

Health sciences

Immunology: Immune system

Related concepts (22)

Complement system

The complement system, also known as complement cascade, is a part of the immune system that enhances (complements) the ability of antibodies and phagocytic cells to clear microbes and damaged cells from an organism, promote inflammation, and attack the pathogen's cell membrane. It is part of the innate immune system, which is not adaptable and does not change during an individual's lifetime. The complement system can, however, be recruited and brought into action by antibodies generated by the adaptive immune system.

Innate immune system

The innate, or nonspecific, immune system is one of the two main immunity strategies (the other being the adaptive immune system) in vertebrates. The innate immune system is an alternate defense strategy and is the dominant immune system response found in plants, fungi, insects, and primitive multicellular organisms (see Beyond vertebrates).

Inflammation

Inflammation (from inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molecular mediators. The function of inflammation is to eliminate the initial cause of cell injury, clear out necrotic cells and tissues damaged from the original insult and the inflammatory process, and initiate tissue repair.

Immune system

The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinters, distinguishing them from the organism's own healthy tissue. Many species have two major subsystems of the immune system. The innate immune system provides a preconfigured response to broad groups of situations and stimuli.

Cell-mediated immunity

Cell-mediated immunity or cellular immunity is an immune response that does not involve antibodies. Rather, cell-mediated immunity is the activation of phagocytes, antigen-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes, and the release of various cytokines in response to an antigen. In the late 19th century Hippocratic tradition medicine system, the immune system was imagined into two branches: humoral immunity, for which the protective function of immunization could be found in the humor (cell-free bodily fluid or serum) and cellular immunity, for which the protective function of immunization was associated with cells.

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