Programme

Properties and Overview of Immune Responses: innate and adaptive immunity, types of adaptive immune responses, cardinal features of adaptive immune responses, cellular components of the adaptive immune system, cytokines, soluble inflammatory mediators; The innate immune response; The adaptive immune response. Cells and Tissues of the Immune System: Phagocytes, Mast Cells, Basophils, Eosinophils, Antigen-Presenting Cells, Lymphocytes; Basic notions of anatomy and functions of lymphoid tissue. Leukocyte Circulation and Migration into Tissues: Adhesion molecules on leukocytes and endothelial cells involved in leukocyte recruitment; Chemokines and chemokine receptors; Migration of neutrophils and monocytes to sites of infection or tissue injury.
Innate immunity and inflammation: Recognition of microbes and damaged self by the innate immune system; Cellular components of the innate immune system; Soluble recognition and effector molecules of innate immunity; the inflammatory response, The complement system and the pathological effects of its activation.
Antibodies and Antigens: Antibody structure, synthesis, assembly, and expression of ig molecules, structure-function relationships in antibody molecules; Features of biologic antigens, structural and chemical basis of antigen binding; Monoclonal antibodies and their use for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Major Histocompatibility Complex Molecules and Antigen Presentation to T Lymphocytes: Properties of antigens recognized by t lymphocytes; The major histocompatibility complex (MHC), processing of protein antigens.
Lymphocyte Development and Antigen Receptor Gene Rearrangement: B and T lymphocytes development; Rearrangement of antigen receptor genes in B and T lymphocytes, Germline organization of Ig and TCR genes, V(D)J Recombination. Activation of T Lymphocytes: Signals for T lymphocyte activation, functional responses of T lymphocytes. Differentiation and Functions Cell-mediated immunity: Subsets of CD4+ effector T cells, effector functions of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes; Functions of other T cell subsets. B Cell Activation and Antibody Production: Antigen recognition and antigen-induced B cell activation, helper T cell–dependent antibody responses to protein antigens, antibody responses to T-independent antigens.
Effector Mechanisms of Humoral Immunity: Neutralization of microbes and microbial toxins; antibody-mediated opsonization and phagocytosis, antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, antibody-mediated clearance of helminths; Specialized immunity at epithelial barriers and in immune privileged tissues.
Immunologic Tolerance and Autoimmunity: T lymphocyte tolerance, B lymphocyte tolerance; Mechanisms of autoimmunity, genetic basis of autoimmunity, role of infections in autoimmunity. Immunity to Microbes: Overview of immune responses to microbes: immunity to extracellular bacteria, immunity to intracellular bacteria, immunity to fungi, viruses and parasites; Adverse reactions: septic shock, tissue and organ damage mediated by antibodies or immune complexes, organ damage by cell-mediated immunity.
Immune responses to tumors, evasion of immune responses by tumors, immunotherapy for tumors.
Hypersensitivity Disorders: Mechanisms and classification of hypersensitivity reactions, diseases caused by antibodies, Immediate hypersensitivitycaused by IgE; diseases caused by T lymphocytes; selected immunologic diseases: pathogenesis and therapeutic strategies: allergy, anaphylaxis, angioedema, transfusion reaction, fetal erythroblastosis, rheumatic fever, Graves' disease, serum sickness, poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis. Congenital and Acquired Immunodeficiencies.

Core Documentation

Abbas Abul K.; Lichtman Andrew H.; Pillai Shiv.: Immunologia cellulare e molecolare. Edizione 2015 Edra-Masson ISBN 10: 8821439623 ISBN 13: 9788821439629

Abbas Abul K.; Lichtman Andrew H.; Pillai Shiv.: Le basi dell'immunologia. Fisiopatologia del sistema immunitario. Edizione 2015 Edra-Masson ISBN: 8821438562 / ISBN-13: 9788821438561

Type of delivery of the course

Lectures

Type of evaluation

PURPOSES AND MODALITIES OF LEARNING VERIFICATION A) The final exam is aimed to verify and evaluate the achieving of educational targets concerning the subjects that are highlighted in bold in the contents. B) During the final test the student will be asked about the subjects indicated in the section “frequently asked questions during exam”. The degree of completeness of the answer, the level of integration between the different topics of the course and the scientific suitability of the speech will be assessed. The achievement of comprehensive view of themes mentioned during lessons, together with their critical utilization, the ability of making connection, the proof of possession of language skills, will be evaluated with excellent scores. The score will be given also taking into account the frequent attendance to the course and the participation in the classroom activities.