William R. Clark
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195336634
- eISBN:
- 9780199868568
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195336634.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Disease Ecology / Epidemiology
The immune system is the only thing standing between us and a world of microbial predators that could send us to an early and ugly death. It would be our only defense during the first hours of a ...
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The immune system is the only thing standing between us and a world of microbial predators that could send us to an early and ugly death. It would be our only defense during the first hours of a bioterrorist attack using some of these very microbes. Evolved over millions of years of to keep us alive long enough to reproduce, the immune system has developed an impressive armamentarium of powerful chemical and cellular weapons that make short work of hostile viruses and bacteria. It has also evolved amazing genetic strategies to keep pace with invading microbes that can reproduce — and thus alter their genetic blueprint — in under an hour. But this same system prevents us from accepting life-saving organ transplants. It is also capable of over-reacting, leading to immunopathologies and causing serious, even lethal, damage to our tissues and organs. Worse yet, our immune systems may decide we ourselves are foreign and attack otherwise healthy tissues, resulting in autoimmune disease. And finally, it is itself the target of one of the most deadly viruses humans have ever known: HIV, the agent of AIDS. Part I of this book describes the structure and function of the immune system at a biological and biochemical level. Part II examines the role of the immune system in a range of human diseases — many caused by the immune system itself.Less
The immune system is the only thing standing between us and a world of microbial predators that could send us to an early and ugly death. It would be our only defense during the first hours of a bioterrorist attack using some of these very microbes. Evolved over millions of years of to keep us alive long enough to reproduce, the immune system has developed an impressive armamentarium of powerful chemical and cellular weapons that make short work of hostile viruses and bacteria. It has also evolved amazing genetic strategies to keep pace with invading microbes that can reproduce — and thus alter their genetic blueprint — in under an hour. But this same system prevents us from accepting life-saving organ transplants. It is also capable of over-reacting, leading to immunopathologies and causing serious, even lethal, damage to our tissues and organs. Worse yet, our immune systems may decide we ourselves are foreign and attack otherwise healthy tissues, resulting in autoimmune disease. And finally, it is itself the target of one of the most deadly viruses humans have ever known: HIV, the agent of AIDS. Part I of this book describes the structure and function of the immune system at a biological and biochemical level. Part II examines the role of the immune system in a range of human diseases — many caused by the immune system itself.
William R. Clark
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195336634
- eISBN:
- 9780199868568
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195336634.003.0006
- Subject:
- Biology, Disease Ecology / Epidemiology
The immune response to microbal infection is massive and brutal — it has to be. But on occasion, particularly when an initial infection is not rapidly cleared, the ongoing immune attack against ...
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The immune response to microbal infection is massive and brutal — it has to be. But on occasion, particularly when an initial infection is not rapidly cleared, the ongoing immune attack against invaders can cause significant collateral damage to otherwise healthy self cells and tissues. This damage is refered to as immunopathology. This chapter examines three examples of immunopathology: tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, and bacterial sepsis.Less
The immune response to microbal infection is massive and brutal — it has to be. But on occasion, particularly when an initial infection is not rapidly cleared, the ongoing immune attack against invaders can cause significant collateral damage to otherwise healthy self cells and tissues. This damage is refered to as immunopathology. This chapter examines three examples of immunopathology: tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, and bacterial sepsis.
Paul Schmid-Hempel
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- December 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199229482
- eISBN:
- 9780191774744
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199229482.003.0009
- Subject:
- Biology, Disease Ecology / Epidemiology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter examines and discusses infection and pathogenesis – which is the physiological process underlying the development of virulence (the capability of a microorganism to cause disease) in the ...
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This chapter examines and discusses infection and pathogenesis – which is the physiological process underlying the development of virulence (the capability of a microorganism to cause disease) in the course of an infection. It looks at the important steps in a parasite’s life-cycle – infection, growth, and multiplication – and observes that the doses needed to infect a host, and the pathogenic effects cause by the established parasite, vary enormously. The chapter also examines pathogenesis in depth, noting that it can be caused by different mechanisms, such as the impairment of host capacities, tissue destruction, and others. Immunopathology, the branch of medicine that deals with immune responses, is also discussed. The text suggests that immunopathology is caused by inappropriate immune defences, where, in many cases, the mechanisms of parasite immune evasion have a certain probability to also lead to important immunopathology.Less
This chapter examines and discusses infection and pathogenesis – which is the physiological process underlying the development of virulence (the capability of a microorganism to cause disease) in the course of an infection. It looks at the important steps in a parasite’s life-cycle – infection, growth, and multiplication – and observes that the doses needed to infect a host, and the pathogenic effects cause by the established parasite, vary enormously. The chapter also examines pathogenesis in depth, noting that it can be caused by different mechanisms, such as the impairment of host capacities, tissue destruction, and others. Immunopathology, the branch of medicine that deals with immune responses, is also discussed. The text suggests that immunopathology is caused by inappropriate immune defences, where, in many cases, the mechanisms of parasite immune evasion have a certain probability to also lead to important immunopathology.
Paul Schmid-Hempel
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- September 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780198832140
- eISBN:
- 9780191870873
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198832140.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Disease Ecology / Epidemiology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Infections and parasite loads vary among hosts. Variation results from ecological, genetic, and immunological factors. Immune defences provide benefits as well as costs and are, therefore, a ...
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Infections and parasite loads vary among hosts. Variation results from ecological, genetic, and immunological factors. Immune defences provide benefits as well as costs and are, therefore, a compromise. Costs result from trade-offs with other needs and can be genetically encoded or plastic (i.e. can change depending on circumstances). Costs are physiological (e.g. energy consumption) or based on evolved genetic covariance. Self-damage (immunopathology) is a further, important cost. Natural selection should optimize the costs and benefits of defences and thus leads to various outcomes in terms of specificity, response delay and strength, or the formation of memory. Moreover, hosts can either resist an infection by eventual clearance, or tolerate the consequences of parasitism.Less
Infections and parasite loads vary among hosts. Variation results from ecological, genetic, and immunological factors. Immune defences provide benefits as well as costs and are, therefore, a compromise. Costs result from trade-offs with other needs and can be genetically encoded or plastic (i.e. can change depending on circumstances). Costs are physiological (e.g. energy consumption) or based on evolved genetic covariance. Self-damage (immunopathology) is a further, important cost. Natural selection should optimize the costs and benefits of defences and thus leads to various outcomes in terms of specificity, response delay and strength, or the formation of memory. Moreover, hosts can either resist an infection by eventual clearance, or tolerate the consequences of parasitism.
Paul Schmid-Hempel
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- September 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780198832140
- eISBN:
- 9780191870873
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198832140.003.0009
- Subject:
- Biology, Disease Ecology / Epidemiology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Transmission is a key process for parasites. Different routes (e.g. faecal–oral) and modes (e.g. by aerosols or vectors) exist. A major context is vertical (to offspring) or horizontal (all other) ...
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Transmission is a key process for parasites. Different routes (e.g. faecal–oral) and modes (e.g. by aerosols or vectors) exist. A major context is vertical (to offspring) or horizontal (all other) transmission. All components of the transmission process evolve. Successful transmission includes the infection of a new host. Macroparasites typically infect as individuals, but microparasites need an infective dose. Doses vary enormously among parasites. Various models describe variation in infective dose. Process-based models assume random colonization, co-operative parasite manipulation, or are focused on early dynamics. With the processes of pathogenesis (e.g. tissue destruction, reducing host capacities), damage to the host emerges. Virulence factors are important mediators of parasite success and often involved in host manipulation and pathogenesis, including immunopathology.Less
Transmission is a key process for parasites. Different routes (e.g. faecal–oral) and modes (e.g. by aerosols or vectors) exist. A major context is vertical (to offspring) or horizontal (all other) transmission. All components of the transmission process evolve. Successful transmission includes the infection of a new host. Macroparasites typically infect as individuals, but microparasites need an infective dose. Doses vary enormously among parasites. Various models describe variation in infective dose. Process-based models assume random colonization, co-operative parasite manipulation, or are focused on early dynamics. With the processes of pathogenesis (e.g. tissue destruction, reducing host capacities), damage to the host emerges. Virulence factors are important mediators of parasite success and often involved in host manipulation and pathogenesis, including immunopathology.
