Question

A 45-year-old female with a past medical history of Type II Diabetes Mellitus (last hemoglobin A1c of 12, currently on intensive insulin therapy), tobacco abuse (approximately 2 packs/day for the last 15 years), and thyroid cancer (anaplastic carcinoma, status post total thyroidectomy) presents to her family nurse practitioner with complaints of a sore throat, cough productive of thick sputum which appears “green,” and subjective fevers and chills (though her temperature has never been above 98.5 degrees Fahrenheit).

She states that her symptoms have been present for 1 week now and that they have gotten worse with time. She initially thought that she had a “head cold” since she gets them around this time of the year (summer) often, and she notes that she attended a family gathering at which she was exposed to a sick individual (her niece who has a strong history of Bruton’s X-linked agammaglobulinemia). Her cough, in particular, has been bothersome, as for the past few days, she has expectorated so much mucus that, per her own testimony, “she has run out of paper cups!”

Her vital signs were stable upon examination, but auscultation of the lungs did reveal significant crackles; a chest radiograph performed at the office was revealing of a right lower lobe pneumonia, and sputum cultures were revealing of Streptococcus Pneumoniae.

Please answer the following questions:

    Given the duration of her symptoms, what components of her immune system are most active at this time?

    What is the mechanism as to how her immune system develops antibodies for the specific pathogen in her sputum?

    What would be the difference between the way in which immunoglobulins will eradicate the pathogen versus the T cell receptor?

    How will her immune system (particularly the adaptive immune system) respond to a second infection with this particular Streptococcal species?

Answer 1

1. Given the duration of her symptoms,what components of her immune system are most active at the time.?

The immune system is made up of special organ ,cells and chemical that fight infection . the main parts of the immune system are ; white blood cells, antibodies, the complement system,lymphatic system ,the spleen,the thymus, and bone marrow.These are parts of your immune system that actively fight infection.

The immune system and microbial infection.

Every microbes it has ever defeated,in types of the white blood cells ( B- and T- lymphocytes) know as memory cells.this mean it can recognise and destroy the microbes quickly.

Part of the immune system are,

White blood cells

Antibodies

Complement system

Lymphatic system

Spleen

Bone marrow

Thymus

White blood cells; moves through blood and tissue throughout your body, looking for foreign invarders such as bacteria,virus,parasites and fungai when they find them ,they launch and immune attack.

White blood cells include lymphocytes,such as

B -cells ,T - cells and natural killer cells.

Antibodies; antibodies helps to the body to fight microbes or toxins they produce.

Complement system; Proteins whose actions complement the work done by antibodies.

Lymphatic system; to manage the fluid levels in the body and react to bacteria,deal with cancer,and deal with cell product that otherwise would result in disease or disorders.

Spleen; blood filtering organ that removes microbes and destroys old or damaged red blood cells.

Bone marrow; it is the spongy tissue found inside your bones,.it produce red blood cells our bodies need to carry oxygen,the white blood cells we use yo fight infection and platelet we need to help our blood clot.

Thymus; filter and monitors tour blood content.it produces the white blood cells called T- lymphocytes.

2 what is the mechanism as to how her immune system develops antibodies for the special pathoge in her sputum?

Antibodies are compounds of protein and sugar that circulate in the blood stream .they are created by immune system to fight germs and foreign substances.Antibodies DA quickly detect germs and other potentially harmful substance, and then attach to them .this neuteralizes the intruders and attract other immune system to help .antibodies are produced by B- lymphocytes. Germs and other substance that can provoke the creation of antibodies are also referred to as antigens.

Antibodies have three Mani function;

*They neutralize germs;

* They active other immune system cells by attaching to their surface .scavenger cells are better able to fight off germs that are loaded with antibodies.

* they activate proteins that help in the immune system response.

Be active the physical activites can give your immune system a great boost in a myriad of ways.researchers have shown that exercise improves the immune and metabolic system .regular exercise increase your body's production of antibodies and T- cells,causing them to circulate more rapidly.

3. what would you be the difference between the way in which immunoglobulin will eredicate the pathogen versus the TCell receptor?

T cell is called T lymphocytes are one of the major component of the adaptive immune system.their roles include directly killing infected host cells.activating other immune cells,producing cytokines and regulating the immune response.

Immunoglobulin a protein produced by plasma cells and lymphocytes and characteristics of these types of cells.immunoglobulin play an essential role in the body's immune system.they attach to foreign substances,such as bacteria and assist in destroy them .immunoglobulin is abbreviated Ig.

4. How will her immune system particularly the adaptive immune system respond to a second infection with this particular streptococcal species?

* the innate immune system is the first line of defence against infectious agent .when this is breached ,the adaptive immune system provides a more efficient response to clearing pathogens.

* in adaptive immune system has the capacity to remember previous antigens ,a process termed immunological memory.

* Antigen- specific Tcells are selected during a primary immune response and expand to produce clones of T cells with high specificity for the activating antigen.

* in a B cell primary response to a thymus - dependent antigen, the immune system select B cell with a high affinity and specificity for the antigen and these become memory cells.

* the selection of B cell with high affinity for given antigen occur in the germinal centers of secondary lymphoid follicles and requires the enzyme activation induced cytidine deaminase and interactions with other immune cells.

* the ability to Change the isotype of antibody produced by a B cell also occur in germinal centers and requires AID.

In a secondary response to the same antigen, memory cells are rapidly activated .this process is quicker and more effective than the primary response.